The Courtship of Mike and Connie
by ScarletCourt
Summary: Mike and Connie have begun a serious relationship a few months after the events in "For the Defense". Here are the trials and tribulations of that relationship, starting a few weeks in. Timelines match the time/place cards we see in the episodes for S20.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Finally, here is the Mike/Connie story that I've mentioned in my previous Mike Cutter background stories and they all belong in the same universe. I waited until I got to a certain point before I started publishing because I enjoy stories that have a logical conclusion and I intend to bring this story to a logical conclusion some day. This story is the trials and tribulations of a relationship between Mike and Connie as I see it. I try my very best to interweave the dates with the the ones we see on the title cards in the episodes. Set in Season 20. I hope you enjoy it. Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, who has great patience with me.

**A/N2:** Since I posted this chapter originally, I've added a prologue to this story as a separate story as I didn't want to spend a lot of time rejuggling the chapters that I had already posted. You can find the prologue in my profile or at http: / www .fanfiction .net/s/6683673/1/Prologue_to_Courtship

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Office of Michael Cutter, 1 Hogan Place, Friday, January 29**

Mike is kissing Connie's neck with passion and she is moaning his name. Hands are everywhere, all at once. This is not the first time that they found themselves in this position in the last few weeks except that it's late at night in the office this time. Each time had not been planned and this time is no different than the others.

Suddenly, Connie says, "Stop. We can't be doing this here."

Mike is surprised and frustrated, but he compiles. "Where should we take this?" Mike's voice is husky.

"Your apartment, it's closer." They redress quickly and put on their coats to leave.

His hands are at the small of her back as they enter the elevator. Once inside, he discreetly reaches for her hand and starts to draw a circle with his thumb. The contact is heightening her arousal. With a bit of effort, she stamps it down. He releases her hand as soon as the doors open.

As they walk past the security guard, they smile and wish him goodnight.

Mike opens the outer doors for Connie and escorts her to the curb where he motions for a cab. Neither speaks for fear of causing a scene in front of Hogan Place.

Once inside the cab, Mike gives the driver direction to his apartment. As soon as they are out of sight of the building, they are clinging to each other again. Hands in hair, other hands at waist. Kissing. Tonguing. The walk to the curb and the waiting for a cab has just heightened their arousal. If it wasn't for the fact that there is a driver present, they would have worked off their frustrations right there and then in the backseat of the cab.

As is, they overpay the driver and nearly run to the elevator in the building. Mike just has a curt nod for the doorman. "Evening, Mr. Cutter."

As they wait for the elevator car, again Mike discreetly takes her hand and starts rubbing a circle with his thumb. Connie closes her eyes to concentrate on not molesting Mike right there in the lobby.

Finally, the elevator arrives and the door cannot close fast enough for them. As it is past midnight, the elevator is, as expected, empty. Mike pulls Connie to him and trails kisses down her jaw to her neck. Her hands are pulling out his shirt out of his pants to get better access to his skin. _Thank God, he's not wearing a three-piece today._

They barely untangle themselves enough from one another as they stumble down the hallway to his apartment. Mike presses Connie against the door with his body, simultaneously kissing her, letting her know what he feels for her through his tented pants and trying to unlock his apartment door. Connie just moans, "Oh, Mike," which just makes unlocking the door that much more difficult.

After what seems like an eternity, Mike finally manages to unlock his apartment door and they stumble inside. Quickly closing and re-locking the door, they both drop their briefcases, and Connie, her purse, in the doorway and each strip themselves of their overcoats and shoes.

With a determined look in his eyes, Mike takes Connie by the hand and leads her to his bedroom. Once inside, he pulls her to him for a kiss. As he moves to her jaw and down her neck, he mumbles into her throat, "God, you're beautiful, Connie. What did I do to deserve you?"

Their lovemaking is intensely passionate and satisfying. What had started on the desk in the office, ends with their sweat-soaked bodies entwined in his sheets on his bed in his apartment.

The next words from Connie surprises Mike. "That was amazing. You were amazing, but we can't keep doing this. You are my boss, Mike. What is going to be on my evaluation? 'She's great in bed?'"

They untangle themselves from each other. Both of them sit up at this juncture, sheets covering various parts of their anatomy.

"No, Connie. Like I told you the first time, I love you. I want to be with you." Mike gently puts his hands on her face to emphasize his point.

Connie takes his hand from her cheek and plays with it. "We have to do something about this. I can't in good conscience be in this and be your subordinate. Everyone knows Jack did it but I don't think I can, at least, not for much longer. I think you need to find a different second chair if we want to continue this, especially long term."

"Do you want to continue this?" Mike asks feeling disappointment creep in.

"Ye-es. I think I do. I think I love you, too, Mike." Suddenly, Connie is too shy to look directly at Mike.

"What do you suggest?" Mike tries to catch her eyes.

"I think I need to dust off my resume and start looking for something else. I'm not sure I can continue this and work at Hogan Place." Taking in a deep breath to gather some courage, Connie continues, "I'm not asking for a commitment, but I do want to know where you think this is going?"

Mike looks at her and smiles a little. "As you probably know, I've been attracted to you since the beginning. I fell in love with you somewhere along the way as you supported my tilts at windmills. I had a rule that I don't sleep with someone I work with, but after the Woll case, I just couldn't convince myself any longer. You were all I thought of day and night. It was especially difficult since we were and are still working together day and night on the appeals for Woll's convictions. You are so beautiful and smart and you stand your ground when you know you are right. I love that in a woman. I think I'm crazy to admit this at this point, but I don't think I could live without seeing you every day for the rest of my life."

Connie tilts her head with a little incredulity "OK. You really think that of me. I'm flattered. If you really do see this as a long term thing, then I think I better start dusting off my resume this weekend. However, before we do that I think I need some sleep but before we do that, I think we need to get cleaned up." With a grin, Connie throws off the sheets and races toward the shower. "Coming?"

Not needing a second prompt, Mike jumps out of bed and follows her.

* * *

Connie is dressed in some of Mike's clothes, sitting at Mike's kitchen table, with a newspaper, eating her toast with a cup of coffee when Mike finally makes an appearance out of the bedroom in his bathrobe and hair askew.

"I see you found what you needed this time."

"Coffee's over there. You're out of jam."

"Good Morning!" Mike comes and kisses Connie as he heads to the coffee pot.

"Good Morning, sleepy head." Connie smiles before she takes a sip of her coffee. "What are the plans for today? I know that we have a few hours of work to do at the office. We didn't exactly bring anything work with us last night. I'd also like to stop by my apartment beforehand to get a change of clothes. I don't think showing up at the office in yesterday's clothes, or your clothes, is a good idea even if it is the weekend."

Pouring some coffee into a mug and taking a sip. "Probably not. What did you want to do after work? Have dinner? See a movie?"

"What do you normally do when you have to work on a Saturday?"

"You're going to laugh. I usually get take out and then go work out at the gym. Helps me relax and sleep after a working weekend." Mike pops some toast in the toaster.

"Do you want a work out partner or is it still too early in the game?" Finishing her toast, Connie takes another sip of her coffee and puts her dishes in the sink.

"There must be something else you want to do besides working out with me?" Mike butters his toast and takes a bite.

"There is ..." Connie licks the butter off the side of this mouth, which startles Mike, "... but if we're in it for the long haul as you suggested last night, I want to know what your regular routines are." After recovering from what Connie just did, Mike puts down his toast and pulls her in for a long kiss indicating his intentions for something else.

"If you want to get a few hours in at the office today, this is going to have to wait, Mike, " says Connie as she gently tries to push him away.

"Connie, ..." says Mike in between kisses down her jaw, " ... if we don't ... take twenty minutes now, ... what happened last night ... might happen again ... What if... we took a shower? ... That way ... we can ... clean up ... at the same time. ... What ... do you say?... Hmmm?"

Connie runs her hands through his hair, and guides his head up. "I guess there's no harm," then kisses him back.

Taking that as his cue. Mike picks up Connie bridal style and heads to the bathroom.

* * *

As they arrive at Connie's apartment, hand in hand, Mike stops Connie at the front entrance. "I'd like to make a drugstore run. Do you need me to go up with you?"

"No, you go ahead. I think I can handle changing and getting some stuff together. Your best bet is the one across the street. They have the best selection. Meet you back here in twenty?"

"Sounds like a plan." Mike leans in to kiss Connie. "I love you."

"I love you, too." _I can't believe how easy it was to say those words._ Connie flashes Mike a smile before heading into her apartment while Mike heads across the street.

* * *

In her apartment, Connie thinks back to the previous night, as she packs her bag. _Am I really thinking of a long future with Mike? If this wasn't my boss, this would just be the start of a relationship. Why does it have to be so hard? I love my job, but I just can't be that woman who sleeps with her boss at night._

As Mike is browsing the drugstore, his mind wanders back to the last twelve hours. _The taste of her. The perfume she wears. The feel of her fingers running through my hair. Stop it. You're a forty-five year old man, not a lovesick teenager. Keep this train of thought up and you'll have to hide behind a coat for the rest of the day. I hope that she meant what she said about finding a new position. I'm having enough trouble with the current setup as it is. Why did I have to fall for my assistant. If it wasn't Connie, this would just be the start of a relationship. Maybe this is something we need to discuss as soon as possible._

* * *

When Connie comes back to the front entrance of her apartment with a fresh change of clothes and her extra bag and her briefcase, Mike is just about to cross the street.

Mike smiles when he sees her. "Ready for the office and tonight?

Connie smiles back. "Yes. I'll have to come back on Sunday afternoon, but I'm good until then."

"Which way to the subway?"

"Follow me." Connie holds out her hand to Mike and he takes it.

Once they are on the subway and seated, Mike broaches the subject of careers. "So what do you see yourself doing in ten years?"

Curious as to where this is going, but Connie still indulged him. "Not 100% sure, but maybe in a private firm on my way to being partner? I want a family by then and I just can't see myself doing these hours for the pay in the long term. Why?"

Mike nods. "Was just thinking about our conversation last night. I don't want this relationship to be forcing you to take something that you don't want just so you can get out of this situation. You know that I could look for something else as well."

Connie looks at Mike incredulously.

"What? I want this relationship to work. In an equal partnership, neither one of us is immune to making the changes necessary for the benefit of the relationship and if it's better for me to make a move, I have no qualms doing it."

"Really, Mike?"

"Really, Connie. I've thought a lot about us and our situation even before we hooked up. We're equal partners in this and we'll take corrective actions as a team."

"That's refreshing, but I just can't see you doing anything other than prosecuting criminals and being an ADA, you're in the best position to do it. I think it's best if we look at what other opportunities are available to consider. I enjoy being second chair, but I'm not the crusader you are."

"Only if you're sure you want to be the one to make the move. I don't want to force you into anything, but you're right, we just can't continue to do this. I can't keep putting you in this position. It's not fair to you."

"Yeah, I think it's best for us, if I move. I never would have guessed that you are so equal opportunity having worked so hard to get to where you are."

"'We' are important to me. I don't want the need to change jobs be foisted on you just because I have the more senior position. Take some time to think about it. I don't want you to make a snap judgment that you'll regret." Mike then kissed the hand he's holding to emphasize the point. Connie then puts her head on his shoulders to think.

* * *

After they arrive at the office, they start to work in earnest to catch up after leaving earlier than planned the previous night. Lunch was ordered in and consumed while continuing to work. All conversation was work related and kept to a minimum.

The sun had set by the time Mike was hungry for dinner. He looks up at Connie and says, "I think this is about all I can handle for today." Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Mike says, "Where do you want to go to dinner? Let me take you out."

After pondering briefly, Connie stretches while sitting. "Something light and wholesome would be good for a change. I don't want heavy food sitting in my stomach when we workout."

"Sure. What about Natalie's Cafe? It's walking distance from here and they only make organic food. The cab ride to the gym near my place will give us time to digest."

"Let me pack up a few files. I want to do some reading before Monday morning."

"How many arraignments do you have on Monday morning?"

"Three. It was two when we started to work on the appeals on Woll's convictions last night. I guess it was a busy Friday night for everyone."

"I'll pack up and meet you at your desk."

With that, Connie nods and heads to her desk with a couple of file folders.

Mike watches her as she retreats with a smile on his face. _How the hell did I get so lucky?_

* * *

Dinner is an enjoyable affair. The cafe is quiet since it is a Saturday night in downtown Manhattan. It gives Mike and Connie a chance to talk about non-work, non-relationship topics.

Mike learns even more about Connie's large family. How she has two sisters and two brothers and more nieces and nephews than you can count on your hands. Add aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins-in-law and offspring and the family has to rent a hall to celebrate major life events, but she can't imagine not having such a large family. When she was younger, her BFFs were three cousins who were all born within an eighteen month span and she is still close friends with one of them who is a endocrinologist.

Connie learns about Mike's childhood which was less than ideal and how baseball was the one thing that anchored him wherever he was. His parents had divorced when he was ten and how he doesn't remember living in the same place as his father for more than a few days at a time.

She also learns that he didn't really have a direction in life until he went to his third college in three years and took a law course to impress a girl. The girl had gone by the wayside before the end of the semester but he then knew what he wanted to do with his life.

After that, he took as many law courses as he could take for his degree. He took his LSATs in his senior year and landed a spot for Law School at Hudson University. Under the tutelage of Emily Ryan, he graduated summa cum laude. By the time they leave the café, it is already ten o'clock.

* * *

By the time they get back to Mike's apartment, it is after midnight.

"Want anything?" asks Mike as he walks into the kitchen.

"Juice would be nice. Thanks." Connie walks into the living room to crash on the couch.

Mike comes into the living room with two glasses and hands one to Connie and sits down beside her.

"Want to do something tomorrow before you have to go home?"

"I don't know. Let's play it by ear."

Connie notices that it was really quiet so she turns her head to look at Mike to find him just staring at her.

Before she could say anything, Mike leans in and kisses her. Connie shifts her position to be more comfortable and kisses him back more vigorously. Soon they were engaged in a full make out session on the couch.

When the clothes start to come off, Mike says in between kisses. "It might ... be more... comfortable ... in bed."

Connie makes an affirmative sound in between moans, so they stumble between kisses into the bedroom.

When Mike returns to bed from cleaning up after their lovemaking, Connie had already started to doze. Mike spoons her, kisses her neck gently and whispers, "I love you so much."

Connie manages to mumble, "I love you, too," before she adjusts a little and falls asleep. Mike soon follows.

* * *

A ringing phone awakens them sometime later in the morning. Sunshine is streaming brightly around the blinds. Mike picks up and mumbles a sleepy, "Hello?" to the receiver. Connie rolls over and looks at him as he converses with the other person. She stretches and looks at her watch. It's 11:30. They had slept the morning away. Considering what they did twice in the night, it's not surprising. She gets up to use the bathroom and to give him some privacy.

When she returns, he's finished his conversation and is lying on pillows against the headboard. Connie joins him and he wraps an arm around her shoulders. Naturally, she rests her head on his shoulder. Connie is surprised by how natural this feels.

"That was my cousin, Tom. My Aunt Faye died this morning in Oregon."

"I'm so sorry, Mike."

"Don't know if you remember I mentioned my Uncle Charlie?"

"The one with dementia?"

"Yeah, that's him. He died fifteen years ago. She's his widow. My aunt had heart troubles from a misdiagnosed heart attack three years ago. She had another one late last night and passed on this morning. I have to fly out next weekend for the funeral. I know that it's not the best time but do you want to come with?"

Lifting her head. "Do you want me to come?"

"These people are pretty much my only family. We don't see each other unless it's a major life event. It's quite likely that the next time we see them is ..." Mike trails off as realizes that this is probably much too early in the relationship to mention it.

"Is when?" Connie insists.

Mike smiles sheepishly and finishes the sentence with a grimace, "Is when we get married?"

"I think you're jumping the gun here, Mike."

"I know I'm being presumptuous, but I know what I want."

"We've been together, what? Four weeks, and you already have us getting married."

"Does it scare you?"

"No, not necessarily, but there is no way on earth I can give you an honest answer right now."

"Well, whenever you're ready, the question remains."

"What if my family scares you?"

"They won't."

"What about some weird habit or hobby that I have makes you think twice?"

"It won't."

Connie looks at him incredulously and but doesn't say anything.

"Look Connie. We've known each other for over two years. We've worked together day in, day out. Everything I've found out about you, especially recently, just reinforces my belief that you are the perfect woman for me." When she doesn't say anything, Mike continues, "I'm forty-five years old. I want to settle down and have a family. If I wait any longer, I'll be cradle robbing, which I don't want to do, though I'm sure that you might still think that I'm doing that now."

"I'll come with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes and let's go get some brunch before it's time for dinner."

**A/N3:** Just an FYI, this story started as an M-Rated short (because there were so few of them here) that has expanded into an epic that doesn't seem to want to end. I've converted it into a T-Rated story for here. If you're interested in the M-Rated version, please go see my blog in my profile where the M-Rated chapter (where warranted) is published around the same time. Thoughts? Would love to hear from you. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** The family of Mike's that Connie meets in this chapter is essentially the same family I introduced in the second chapter of my Young Mike Cutter story. There are obviously changes in the family unit as the events here takes place approximately 35 years after the events in that background story. Again, many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, who has great patience with me.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Offices of the Manhattan District Attorney, 1 Hogan Place, Friday, February 5**

The week flies by for Mike and Connie. After a few arraignments on Monday, a plea bargain and jury selection for the Conway trial on Tuesday, courtroom trials on Wednesday and Thursday, plus all the Woll work in the evenings and Friday arrives before they know it. Their flight out of JFK is at 7:25, which means that they have to leave early from work on Friday. Jack suspects nothing, when Mike asks for an extended weekend for his aunt's funeral. However, when Mike mentions that Conlan is in charge because Connie will be away on Monday as well, Jack does smirk though he doesn't say anything.

Leaning on the doorframe to Mike's office, Connie asks, "Are you almost ready to go, Mike?" Connie looks at her watch. It was 3:30 already. _Traffic is going to be a bitch._

"Give me five. Are you bringing the Wallack appeal with you?"

"Already in my bag."

They aren't going to be back in the office until Tuesday morning since the only flight out of Portland on a Sunday is a red-eye. With the cost of the weekend, this is likely going to be their only out of town vacation until the fall, so they might as well enjoy it.

It takes them an hour and a half to get to JFK and another hour and a half to get through security. That leaves them about a half hour for a bite to eat before boarding.

"I hate airport security. Why is it that I always get picked for 'special treatment'?"

"Connie, if they don't think you'll make a big stink, you've got a target on your back. Besides, I'm sure you're nicer to look at in those new full body scanners than I am." Mike smiles.

Connie rolls her eyes. "What did you want for dinner? My treat."

"Let's see what's in the sandwich shop."

After they buy their dinner, they barely have time to eat before being called to board. After the usual hassle in trying to cram two hundred people in an area that fits fifty comfortably, their flight actually takes off on time. They were very lucky to find adjoining seats at this late juncture, though it was in the last row, and they take advantage of the flight to do more Woll work.

The Wallack case had to do with Bernie Wallack, a guy convicted of murdering his wife in a nasty divorce. This was an interesting case as Bernie Wallack had threatened to kill his wife a week before she was found dead in the matrimonial home. The children weren't affected as they had been at camp during the incident. However, the detectives noted that the deliveryman noticed people arguing when he delivered a package to the next-door neighbor. At the time, Bernie was supposed to be in a meeting with his board of directors but he was a no show. The deliveryman was supposed to testify at the trial but he never showed up.

"Look at this, Mike. The deliveryman turned up a year later in New Jersey."

"This is just like the 'Mad Dog' Jackson case."

"I'll email the DA investigators to follow up on this when we get in. I sense another overturned conviction. I can't believe I ever found that slime ball attractive." Connie presses her lips into a thin line to show her contempt for Woll.

"Like you said, it's life." Mike reminds her.

"You were right. It was dumb."

"Yes, but I also said that you're not dumb." Mike takes her hand to kiss it and console her. "I don't think any less of you for it. Why don't we call it a night? After all, we're supposed to be on vacation." Mike smiles at her to try to lift her mood.

Connie manages a weak smile and proceeds to put her files back into her brief case. "So when do you think we'll get in?"

Mike also puts his stuff away. "Unfortunately, it will be about four in the morning our time by the time we can crash. My Aunt lived an hour and a half outside of Portland. Fortunately, the funeral is not until three in the afternoon, so we can sleep in."

Connie smiles wanly.

"Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me. Since we have all day Sunday, we can go sightseeing in Portland, if you wish."

"I'd like that. I've never been out this way before. Oh, I found a couple of job postings the other night." Connie reaches into her briefcase to pull out some printouts. Handing them out to Mike, she asks, "What do you think?"

Reading through the postings, Mike thought that they were a little junior for someone with Connie's experience. Mike makes a non-committal sound. "Are you sure this is what you want to apply for? I just think that these positions are somewhat junior for someone with your experience."

"I, too, have been thinking it over, and if your intent is to marry me someday and want a family, I really don't think that I can work these hours anymore. These more junior positions would allow me to handle the demands that a family entails. Certainly, your hours are not going to change and I see no point in having children only to never see them." Connie gestures as if to prove her point.

"I think you're selling yourself short. I don't ever want you to sell yourself short for the relationship. It's not fair to your career. It's not fair to you." Mike is emphatic.

"Mike, I think you're being hypocritical here and I'm calling you on it," says Connie.

"How so?" asks Mike.

"Last weekend, you told me that we both needed to do what was best for the relationship. Now you don't want me to sell myself short in the relationship. I just can't see how these two points converge in your view of 'the relationship'." Connie crosses her arms to emphasize her point.

"Connie, I don't want you to regret taking two steps back in your career for us." Mike says in explanation. "While I do want to marry you and start a family, I just don't think that you need to take that step right now."

"Mike, I'll be thirty-four this year. Women's fertility drops like a stone after thirty-five. I would expect that we would start trying right after we got married. I want to be comfortable in my job before that. Not to mention the insurance aspect. Some plans want you to be in it for a year before they will pay for any pregnancy related costs." Connie explains.

"Have you checked with the job postings in the DA's office?" Mike suggests.

"I did but nothing at my level, right now." Connie sighs.

"Yes, but that might change in the next year or so. I think we need to talk to Jack and get his advice."

"Do we really want to get Jack involved?" Connie is not keen on this idea.

"Well, he's been in this situation before. I'm sure that he would have some good advice for us," counters Mike.

"I don't really want to be the topic of water cooler conversation more than we already are. Involving Jack will surely add fuel to the fire." Connie raises her eyebrows to emphasize the point.

"I disagree," Mike insists. "I think that if he was aware of our intentions, he could help us with this. He has experience with these types of things. It's not like he's going to go out of his way to share this information."

"Remember he kyboshed my wish to transfer to white collar crimes after that abortion case last year. He insisted that we work things out, which I'm glad we did." Connie smiles at the thought.

"True, but the alternative is to be ever flowing water cooler gossip, not to mention lawsuits should someone think that I gave you a better annual rating than them because we're together and not because you do a better job than they do." Mike rolls his eyes at the thought. "Then there's the other alternative of losing you altogether if you wanted to move on. I'm sure that he'd be happier if it was me instead of you. Are you certain that you don't want me to change jobs instead? Jack would be happier."

"No," says Connie. "Like I said before, between the two of us, you're the crusader. While I do love my job, I don't live for it like you do. In the balance of things for the relationship, it's much better for me to make the move."

"If you're sure." Mike lets the question hang in the air.

"I am, Mike, because should this relationship not work out or something happen to you, if I can find a job that's satisfying, I'll be fine." Connie looks at him to convey reassurance.

"I love you, Connie. How the hell did I ever get so lucky?" Looking around to make sure no one was looking their way, Mike puts the back of his hands to caress Connie's cheek. Connie's eyes soften and Mike leans in for a kiss. Since the week has been so busy and they have had no contact outside the office, the kiss deepens quickly and papers start to fall to the ground. After a minute or so, Mike pulls away and whispers in a husky voice, "If we don't stop now, we will be well on our way to join the mile high club, and be arrested for indecent exposure when we land."

"Oh." Connie quickly pulls away, straightens her blouse, and picks up the fallen papers. After looking at Mike's face, she reaches into her purse and pulls out a wet wipe. Handing it to him, she says, "You might want to do a quick wipe. You're currently wearing my lipstick all around your mouth." A giggle escapes.

Mike takes the wet wipe and wipes vigorously. "How's that?"

"You missed a spot." Connie takes the wipe from Mike's hand and takes care of the missed spot.

Mike smiles as Connie puts the wet wipe in the seat back in front of her. "Perhaps we should find something dull to read for the remainder of the flight."

"Good idea."

* * *

The flight lands fifteen minutes early and the airport is suitably deserted. They manage to get their luggage without a hassle and the rental car is as described. Staying in a hotel just outside of Portland, they arrive in record time. Nonetheless, Mike and Connie are exhausted, as it is nearly four in the morning in New York City.

After requesting a wake-up call for ten o'clock the next morning, Connie unpacks enough of her suitcase to change out of the suit she's been wearing for the last twenty-two hours. While Connie is in the bathroom, Mike unpacks his suitcase and undresses to his undergarments.

While waiting for Connie to get out of the shower, Mike turns on the TV to see the local news and weather and checks his Blackberry for new email. Mike is replying to an email when Connie reappears out of the bathroom in a long t-shirt that says, "Swathmore." "So what's the weather like for tomorrow?"

"Uh. Sunny with cloudy periods." Mike hits send and looks at Connie appreciatively. "Only you can make an old college t-shirt look sexy."

Connie sits down on the bed beside Mike, takes the Blackberry out of his resistless hands and says, "No more work." Connie smiles beatifically.

"Yes, ma'am." Mike is looking directly into Connie's eyes.

Connie leans in and kisses Mike goodnight, but Mike is having none of it and pulls her to him for a more passionate kiss. Connie responds and a battle of the tongues begins. Mike then shifts them so that he's on top.

"I've … missed … you … all … week," says Mike in between kisses.

Connie moans in agreement as she moves her neck to give him unfettered access. "I've missed you, too."

They proceed to remove the remainder of their clothing quickly. Mike pulls out a condom and quickly slips it on.

Just before he enters her, Mike says, "I'm sorry. This is going to be quick. It's been almost a week."

Their lovemaking is quick but passionate. After their breathing returns to normal, Mike rolls off, looks at Connie and says, "It will be better next time."

"I thought it was pretty good this time." Connie smiles at Mike.

"I'll go clean up. Good night, Love."

"Goodnight, Mike."

When Mike returns after cleaning up, Connie has turned off the TV, curled up and gone to sleep. Mike cuddles up to Connie and thinks, _Life can't get better than this_, before sleep claims him as well.

* * *

They are awakened the next morning by the wake up call. Mike looks up at Connie after he hangs up and says, "Good morning. Sleep well?"

"Pretty well, you?"

"I sleep better when you're with me." Mike smiles. "Ready to meet my family?"

"Do I have a choice?" Connie winks and smiles back at Mike.

"Don't worry. When you see how smart and beautiful you are, they will love you as I do."

Connie lifts an eyebrow at this.

Mike kisses Connie on the forehead. "You are beautiful when you are incredulous."

"Let's get ready and have brunch. According to the GPS last night, we have an hour to drive and I'd like to arrive before the funeral to see the family. Why don't you shower first? I want to make some calls to my cousin, Tom."

"Sure. Should I expect that we'll be out until late?"

"Yeah. There's a reception afterward and likely a family dinner after that."

Connie gives Mike a quick kiss, gets some under garments from her suitcase and heads to the bathroom.

Mike picks up his Blackberry and dials his cousin.

* * *

Connie takes a quick shower as she had showered the night before and changes into new undergarments. She brushes her hair and looks at the complexion in the mirror. _I wonder what his family will think. I wonder what my family will think. All my brothers and sisters have married Hispanics. I'm sure that Papi will wonder especially if he finds out Mike's my boss_.

Thinking back on the past few weeks, Connie had to smile at how adorable Mike had been. Since she agreed to go to this funeral, he has been showering her with little gifts and love notes. She'd open a file he gave her to find a sticky note that said, "You're a vision of loveliness in green today," or "I can't stop thinking about the weekend we had," or "You are so beautiful." She'd be in the middle of something at her desk and he would appear at her elbow with a cup of coffee or when they were doing Woll work in the evenings, he'd give her an impromptu shoulder massage.

She came back from arraignment on Monday to find a dozen red roses on her desk. Maureen, Jack's administrative assistant, who took the delivery, said it was from a secret admirer. When she signed into her computer, there was an email from Mike asking if she likes roses. Mike is certainly a man of bold gestures. She would have never guessed that he is like this on a personal level, but she loves his attentiveness. She loves the risks he would take. She loves how the relationship has been on her mind. She loves the sex, which was always good. She loves being with him. She loves him. It just then dawned on her that she never initiated those three little words. She mostly said "I love you, too," but she'd never said, "I love you" to Mike without him saying it first to her. It is then that she realizes that she is in love with him.

Connie finishes up her hair and leaves the bathroom on a mission to rectify the situation. She finds him sitting on the side of the bed texting or emailing someone.

"Mike?"

"Yeah, Connie?" Mike looks up from his Blackberry and realizes that she has a serious look on her face.

Connie looks Mike straight in the eye and says, "I love you."

Mike is puzzled and looks as if to ask where is this going?

"I love you." Connie repeats.

"I love you, too, what is the matter?"

Connie sits down beside him, takes his Blackberry out of his hands, puts it down on the nightstand and says, "I just wanted to say, 'I love you.'"

Mike doesn't seem to get it.

"I was looking in the mirror brushing my hair and thinking of how things have changed in the past few weeks. How I love the little notes you put into the files. How attentive you've been and how I love being with you and I realized that I have never told you I love you."

"Yes, you've said it." Mike is still not following her.

"No, you don't understand. I've always said, 'I love you, too', but I've never initiated before and I just realized that I really love you. Not that I didn't before, but I guess I didn't realize I was in love with you before. Certainly, I didn't have the clarity until now. If we weren't in a hurry, I'd show you how much I love you. I guess you'll just have to wait until later."

Connie leans in and kisses Mike long and hard. Mike is reluctant to stop things, so he pulls Connie to him, hugs her and kisses her on the neck, while murmuring, "We have twenty minutes."

"Mike, No."

Mike reluctantly withdraws.

"I'll make it up to you sometime this weekend," says Connie.

"Promise?" Mike has the look of a petulant boy.

"Yes, I promise. Now go shower."

Mike steals one last kiss from Connie before grabbing a new pair of boxers and heads to the bathroom.

"You owe me," Mike says before he gets in and then closes the door.

* * *

They are driving in the countryside. Mike has one hand on the wheel and the other hand holding Connie's.

Mike is resplendent in a black three-piece. Connie is elegant in a black sweater with a fitted skirt. As it is early February, they are also wearing their coats. Connie has already caught Mike watching her several times.

"Turn left at Latimer Street in three hundred yards," the GPS chimes in the background.

"So there's your cousin, Tom, who is the son of the Aunt that passed away …"

"He has two brothers, Matt and Bill. Tom's wife is Lisa, Matt's wife is Susie and Bill's wife is Linda. They all have a litter of kids."

"A litter, Mike. Really?"

"Well, there's a lot of them and I don't remember their names. There's Uncle George and Aunt Sarah. They only have a daughter, Janice, who's married to … I don't remember his name and they have kids, too. Finally, there's Aunt Millie and Aunt Wanda. They live together and have never married. Well, Aunt Wanda isn't really a bio aunt. She and Aunt Millie have been together for as long as I've known them. This is my Mom's side of the family."

"If they lived so far away from where you grew up, how do you know them so well?"

"When I was a kid, even before the divorce, my parents shipped me here every summer from the time I was six. Sometimes I feel closer to them then my own parents, which is why I wanted you to meet them. Tom, Matt and Bill were my best friends each summer. Bill is a year older than me. Tom is my age and Matt is a couple of years younger. Bill has a Master's degree in biochemistry but he took over the family farm when Uncle Charlie died. Tom is a bank manager in town and Matt teaches history at the local high school and is the baseball coach.

"How is it that you've never mentioned these people before aside from your Uncle Charlie?" asks Connie.

"Because they live in Oregon and the last time I was here was for Janice's wedding ten years ago," says Mike.

Connie smirks.

"What's so funny?" asks Mike.

"It's not so much funny as odd," says Connie. "Seems that these people are important to you and yet the last time you saw them was ten years ago. It's just hard to fathom. I have second cousins in California, but the last time I saw them was three years ago. I guess familial ties are different with your family."

"Not everyone is close like your family," says Mike.

"Turn right on Sycamore Street in two hundred yards," chimes the GPS.

"Will that be a problem?" asks Connie.

"Will what be a problem?" asks Mike not understanding Connie's question.

"A close family where we would have obligations every holiday, where family gatherings happen nearly every weekend sometimes. No relation I am aware of lets ten years go between seeing one another." Connie explains.

"I think it might be nice to have somewhere to go each holiday rather than spending it alone in your apartment." Mike states.

"Oh, Mike," says Connie. "I never knew you spent your holidays alone. If I had, I would have invited you at one point."

"Well, you can rectify that by inviting me to your next gathering." Mike is in no mood for pity and so offers a solution.

"Done. I just hope that you aren't overwhelmed. My first college boyfriend broke up with me after a few of these gatherings. He couldn't take the number of people in them."

"I would like to think that I have more intestinal fortitude than any of your college boyfriends," Mike smiles at Connie.

"Destination on left," droned the GPS.

"And, we're here," announces Mike.

* * *

Mike and Connie approach a small group huddled inside the funeral home.

"Tom," Mike calls out and a large, stocky man turns around.

"Mike! So good to see you."

Mike makes introductions. "Tom, this is Connie. Connie, this is my cousin, Tom."

"A pleasure. I'm so sorry for your loss." Tom shakes Connie's hand.

"Wonderful to meet you. Thank you. So this is the girl you've been talking about, Mike. You work with Mike, right?" asks Tom.

"Yes, we both work at the District Attorney's office." Connie blushes.

"Mike, I should mention that your Mom will be arriving in a half hour," says Tom with a grimace. "She called Matt this morning to go pick her up at the airport."

"Thanks for letting me know." Mike is suddenly dour.

A member of the funeral home staff approaches them. "Tom, we have a couple more questions"

"I'll be right there," says Tom. "Mike, the family dinner is at Gillespie's at seven tonight. See you and Connie there."

"Thanks, Tom."

Mike leads Connie into the viewing room. They pay respects to Mike's Aunt before they approach another large stocky man, which Connie correctly guesses as Tom's brother, Bill.

"Bill." Mike extends his hand out which Bill takes.

"Mike. How are things?" Bill says with a smile.

"Good. I'm sorry for your loss. Aunt Faye was very special," says Mike.

"It was her time," says Bill. "Nonetheless, the house will be empty without her."

Mike makes a second round of many more introductions. "I can imagine. Bill, this is Connie. Connie, this is my cousin, Bill."

"Oh, yes." Bill takes Connie's extended hand and shakes it vigorously with a big smile on his face. "Tom mentioned that Mike would be bringing you. A pleasure to meet you." Bill then motions to a woman a cross the room who proceeds to come over with a couple of young teenagers – a boy and a girl.

"Linda. You remember, Mike," says Bill and Linda nods. "Mike brought Connie here. Just like Tom mentioned. Connie, this is my wife, Linda, and our two youngest, Brad and Ashley." Linda shakes Connie's hand and the children smile at her.

"Our oldest, Wendy, is over there with her husband, Greg." Bill points to a heavily pregnant young woman with a very attentive husband. "And our older son, Todd, is outside. Here comes Susie."

A woman in her early forties with three young children in tow approaches. "Mike?" Mike turns to her. "So nice to see you again. Matt's gone to pick up your Mom. They should be back shortly. How's New York treating you? I heard you got a new job a few years ago."

"Hello, Susie," says Mike in greeting. "Susie, this is Connie, my girlfriend. Connie, this is Susie, my cousin Matt's wife." Connie notes the difference in introduction and it gives her a small thrill but she shows no outward indication. Meanwhile Mike is hoping that by introducing Connie as his girlfriend that Susie won't be over friendly.

Susie just smiles at Connie. Connie smiles back.

"These are our kids," says Susie. "Jeremy, Heather and Jack. Jeremy is in fifth grade, Heather is in third and Jack just started preschool this year."

"Susie used to hang out with Matt and I when we played baseball in the summer," explains Mike. She and Matt got married the summer after I graduated law school."

Before anyone else could say anything, a funeral home staff member calls out, "The procession to the church will start in fifteen minutes. Pallbearers, please meet in the back. Thank you."

Susie turns to her kids and say, "Let's go and get our stuff." Barely turning around, Susie continues, "Good to see you, Mike. Connie, good to meet you. We'll see one another at the family dinner and we can catch up then."

"See you Susie." Mike calls out as she is leading the kids to another room.

Mike leads Connie to two older ladies accompanied by a woman Mike's age.

"Aunt Millie and Aunt Wanda, " Mike greets the two elderly ladies. "Lisa. So sorry about Aunt Faye." Mike hugs the younger woman.

"Ladies, this is Connie. Connie, this is my Aunt Millie, Aunt Wanda and Lisa, Tom's wife." Mike points to each woman as he makes the introduction. Mike and his Aunt Millie have reasonably similar facial features denoting their genetic relationship.

After a round of nice to meet you and consolations about the deceased, Lisa says, "I see Susie has already said hi. How are things at the District Attorney's office?"

"Never better. Crime is down which is always good," says Mike.

Millie leans over to Connie and stage whispers, "Susie's always been sweet on Mike, but she settled for Matt twenty years ago."

Mike can't help but overhear and blushes to the roots of his hair.

"How's the real estate business, Lisa?" asks Mike pretending he didn't hear his aunt. "Is it any better than the rest of the country?"

"No, Mike," says Lisa. "It's worse here. The RV plant closed last summer and unemployment is in the double digits. Foreclosures left and right. It keeps me busy, but I'm so glad that the boys all went out of state for college. There's no future here for them. Tom's been very lucky that his bank hasn't failed. The other two banks in town have closed up. There are some towns in Oregon that no longer have banks serving them. It's a sad state of affairs."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," says Mike. "I knew that times were tough out here with the recession, but I didn't realize just how difficult."

Millie waves at an older gentleman with white hair, accompanied by an older woman. "George, have you seen Mike yet? He brought his girlfriend."

Mike and Connie both turn to the gentleman and his wife.

"I'm so sorry about Aunt Faye." Mike shakes George's hand, hugs Sarah and then makes the proper introductions.

Sarah looks at Mike and says, "It was Faye's time. She's had a bad year. She was ready. I think the last time you were out this way was for Janice's wedding. We missed you when Wendy got married."

"Yes, I was so sorry to miss it, but it was one of those cases that required a lot of overtime. You know how it is." Mike smiles a fake smile.

"Connie, is it?" asks George.

Connie nods politely. "So sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. How do you know Mike?" asks George

"George, dear," says Sarah. "Tom mentioned that they both work at the same office."

"Yes," says Connie "We both work at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. We've worked on the same team for the last two years."

"A little office romance, huh, hey Mike?" George winks at Connie.

"George! Mind your own business." Sarah is mortified.

Connie smiles politely.

"Don't mind him, dear," explains Sarah. "It's just that we don't often get out of town family visits."

"No worries," says Connie.

"How is the pharmacy, Uncle George?" asks Mike. He wants desperately to change the subject.

"Sold it, three years ago," says George. "Couldn't take the long hours anymore. I'm not as young as I used to be and since our son-in-law, Hank, didn't want to take over, thought I'd take the best offer I could get. Ended up being the best decision I ever made. Three months later, the recession hit. The poor fellow who bought it is keeping it open by the skin of his teeth. If it gets any worse, it will be closed for sure."

Just as George was about to continue, another funeral home staff member spoke loudly. "The funeral procession will now begin. The pallbearers are ready and will proceed out the northeast entrance towards the church so that the funeral service can begin.

Sarah puts a hand on Mike's right arm. "We'll see you at the family dinner, Mike. Lovely to meet you, Connie."

* * *

As Mike and Connie are walking in the funeral procession, Connie says, "Your family seems really nice. I'm surprised that the last time you were here was ten years ago."

"Well, Tom and his family have been to New York City more recently, but it's nowhere near as fun to visit on your own." Mike looks at Connie with utter adoration. Connie squeezes his hand in response and says in a teasing tone, "So I'm here for your amusement."

"Well, I wouldn't say for my amusement alone," Mike counters. "Look Connie, we have only been here for a half hour and this has been my best visit since I was sixteen. The family has really taken to you. You're beautiful, elegant, and exotic and yet humble enough to come to small-town Oregon. You're perfect."

Connie blushes. She's not sure how many more of these compliments she can take before it goes to her head.

"So I guess I'll get to meet your Mom as well," says Connie.

Mike grimaces. "Yeah. Don't get your hopes up. I overheard my grandmother tell a neighbor when I was twelve that, she never wanted kids, but that's what you did in the Sixties. Though I'm sure that if Roe vs Wade was enacted in the early Sixties, or if oral contraceptives were more widely available, I wouldn't be here. I really don't remember really spending much fun time with her as a child."

"And this is my point about where I see my career going if your intentions are still true," says Connie. "I expect to be working, but putting the hours that we do would mean nannies around the clock or shipping them off to camps every summer or whatnot. I'd like my children to know at least one of their parents."

As they are walking up the steps of the church, Mike says, "I still think you're selling yourself short, but we can discuss this at length tomorrow when we have more time to ourselves."

* * *

In the church, Mike and Connie sit in the last pew of the family section. An elderly but elegant woman with a haughty bearing walks in with a man Mike's age and sit in the front family pew. The man is obviously Mike's cousin, Matt, as Mike and Matt share the same build and hair. Matt joins his family after the elderly woman is settled.

"And that, Connie, is my mother."

"She didn't even look at you." Connie is incredulous.

"I haven't seen her since Uncle Charlie died fifteen years ago," says Mike. "She's not a fan of weddings, so don't be surprised if she declines to attend ours. She's only here because Aunt Faye was her best friend in high school. She didn't even attend Aunt Faye and Uncle Charlie's wedding."

The strains of music begin the service and cut off conversation.

**A/N2:** What did you think of Mike's family? Would love to hear from you. I don't bite. I promise. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** This chapter is shorter than the others, but it seemed right to break it here. The usual thanks goes to my beta, Tripp3235. You keep me on the straight and narrow. :)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Mountainview Cemetery, Chenoweth, Oregon, Saturday, February 6**

After the body is interred into the ground, Mike's mother approaches them.

"Hello, Michael."

"Hello, Mother. Good to see you again. This is Connie Rubirosa. Connie, this is my mother, June Cutter."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs Cutter." Connie smiles in greeting.

"Ms. Cutter if you please. It's not like I've been married to Michael's father since the seventies."

Connie now understands where Mike gets some of his arrogance.

"Sorry, Connie. Mother uses the Cutter name because it wasn't the thing to change out of your married name after a divorce in those days and it's the name she uses in her line of designer fashion."

"My apologies, Ms. Cutter." Connie says though her tone is less apologetic.

"I'm not sure what my son has done to win your affections, but be aware that he talks a better talk than he delivers." June Cutter is nearly sneering as she says this.

"We've worked together in the District Attorney's Office for the last two years and I'm well aware of how much of his talk gets delivered. Thank you for your concern." Connie is not backing down against this bully.

"So long as you are aware." June shrugs.

In desperate need to steer this conversation in a different direction before either one of the women tears a strip off the other, Mike chimes in. "So how is Roger?"

"He is doing rather well. Still jet setting around the world. Last I saw him was a couple of months ago before he left for India. Those BRIC* countries are a haven for business opportunities at the moment." There is a hint of pride in June's voice that's not present when she speaks of Mike.

Unable to contain herself, Connie interjects. "Yes, Ms Cutter. The BRIC countries are most definitely a hotbed of business opportunities, especially since technical labor costs are so much lower. However, there are concerns that we, in the US, will lose our knowledge base in twenty years, if we continue to offshore our work to them. New graduates in the US are unable to find work in the scientific and technology fields as junior jobs are being offshore. Labor in the BRIC countries will gain the experience normally ascertained by new graduates, hence the knowledge base moves out of the US and we would be the poorer for it."

Unwilling to let Connie get the upper hand, June says, "Well, there have always been loss in knowledge from one group to another. In my day, it was to the ethnics. Now, it is merely from the US to other countries." June looks at Connie with distain as a member of the ethnics.

"Mother, I believe this conversation has now ended. It was good to see you as always. Please give my regards to Roger when you speak with him."

Before June Cutter could reply, Mike leads Connie away from his mother. Connie could tell he was about to blow a gasket.

"And now you understand why I don't spend any time with my mother. I'm so sorry for what she said to you. The nerve of her. If I had suspected that she was coming, I would most definitely not have asked you to come, but I now suspect that she came because she had heard that I was bringing someone."

"She is just trying to bait me and indirectly you. Don't worry. I'm made of sterner stuff and I think you are, too." Connie smiles beatifically at him.

"And that is why I love you." Mike kisses Connie on the cheek.

"Who's Roger?" Connie wonders.

"My stepfather." Mike rolls his eyes.

"I thought your mother was against marriage." Connie is puzzled.

"No, she's against weddings, not marriage. Marriage allows a whole set of law to apply in her favor and mother isn't going to give up that advantage."

"Oh." Connie quickly changes the subject. "Let's head to the reception. I'm dying to have an in-depth conversation with your Aunt Millie."

"Connie, she's a gossip. I beg you."

"And that is why I want to talk to her." Connie beams at Mike causing him to admit defeat.

"Do you know you're adorable when you know you've lost?"

"I know when to admit defeat in your presence." Mike mock bows at Connie. "Can we take a short walk before going to the reception? I need to regroup a little."

"Of course."

*BRIC = Brazil, Russia, India and China

* * *

The reception was in full swing when Mike and Connie arrive since only family went to the interment. Mike leads Connie to the refreshment table to delay the inevitable, but as it turns out, Mike's aunt was sitting beside it almost as if she was waiting for an opportunity to talk to Connie.

"Hello, dear. Did Mike show you around our little town?" Millie is smiling broadly at the possibility of conversing with Connie.

Connie smiles at Mike's aunt in return. "Yes, I got to see the store where he bought his baseball cards, the sporting goods store and the field where his team played. It's a lovely little town."

"I'm glad you like what you see. I've lived here my whole life. There's nowhere else I'd rather live. By the way, I overheard your conversation with my sister. Please let it be known that the rest of the family does not think like June. Some of it, I think, is that she's protective of Mike in her own way. She apparently made it very obvious to Matt on the drive from the airport that she was displeased to have found out that her son is in a serious relationship from someone else. Mike, did you not tell your mother about Connie before this? You know how she gets when she's the last to know."

"Aunt Millie, you know what my relationship is like with her. As well, Connie and I have only gotten serious very recently and I thought this was a good opportunity for her to meet everyone."

"Mike, the family is pleased that you brought Connie, but you would think that you know your mother well enough by now. You could have dropped her an email and you wouldn't be at fault if she didn't check it before she heard about you and Connie from Tom." Millie chides Mike more like a mother than Mike's own mother.

"Yes, you're right. I should have thought of that." At Connie's puzzled look, Mike continues, "Aunt Millie was the local judge's law clerk. She was the one who taught me the terms at fault and plausible deniability."

As Mike and Connie talk with Aunt Millie, a man Mike's age approaches.

"Mike Cutter? Brian Wallace. We played the summer leagues together one year when we were twelve." Brian extends his hand to Mike.

Mike turns to see and recognizes Brian. "You were the left fielder, right?" Mike shakes Brian's hand and smiles.

"That's right and I used to bat right before you."

Mike looks back to Connie to indicate that he will be back shortly. Connie nods.

"You know, Connie, Mike used to play in the local baseball league when he came in the summers." Aunt Millie starts the conversation.

"He loves baseball still. He goes to Yankees games whenever he can. He'll even go to Mets games when the Giants are in town. He has his bat, glove and a ball in his office. He says it helps him think. Mike mentioned that he used to come here every summer since he was six."

"Yes, until the summer after he started college, my sister would ship him here after school ended. The first few years he would cry when it was time to go back." Millie recalls sadly.

"Didn't his parents spend one vacation with him?" Connie is incredulous.

"June was never the motherly type and she was 'oh so proud' when she left to go to college after graduating top of her class in high school. This was the early Fifties and she was the first girl in town to attend and the first of us." Millie is saddened by this recollection.

Connie gives her a wane smile of encouragement.

Millie sighs before continuing. "When she married Mike's dad, there were never any plans for a child. With Tom's long hours and his job requiring a move every ten to fourteen months, it was hard for June to establish her career. With his hours, June had her own schedule and it worked for them. When she got pregnant with Mike, she cried and not for happiness."

Millie continues her story. "They, well June and Mike really, settled in San Francisco when Mike was four so that they could be closer to family and give June a chance to establish herself. They had nanny after nanny looking after Mike until he went to first grade. That's when they tried shipping him off to boarding school, but he was a small boy and was bullied daily. He cried so much that he had to be sent home after a month. My parents felt so bad for Mike that they invited him here for the summer to give him a chance to know family and a chance to get him away from his parents. After the divorce, it gave Mike an anchor where he could be a normal kid. Like I said, he cried when it came time to go back. The only thing that would placate him was when my parents told him that he could come right back the next year."

"Poor Mike." Connie's heart breaks for his childhood.

Millie understands Connie's sentiment. "It's heartbreaking to hear and it was even more heartbreaking to watch. I'm so glad that he turned out so well. My parents worried long and hard for him. It's a shame that they never got to see him as a successful adult. They passed away before he graduated law school."

"Yes, that is too bad. Mike mentioned that he went to three different colleges in four years for his undergraduate?" Connie has been curious about this fact since Mike mentioned it to her last week.

"Mike was a bit adrift as a young man. Smart but adrift. He went to UConn because he got a scholarship for being an in-state applicant. He never studied and lost the scholarship and went to BU in Boston for his second year. When that didn't work out and he ended up finishing up at SUNY, Purchase College before going to Hudson University for his law degree. I was so proud of him that Wanda and I went to New York City for his graduation so someone would cheer him on." Millie shows the pride that Connie would have expected from Mike's mother.

"What was Mike's father like?" Connie is curious.

"Tom Cutter was and, I think, still is a turnaround specialist. By now, he must have worked for most large scale companies in the country on contract. Most people his age would have retired years ago, but last I heard he was still working. He's from Boston or somewhere around there and he never liked coming out to small town Oregon. He came out once for a couple of days while he and June were married and before Mike came along. They didn't even marry here. My mother was heartbroken when we got a telegram out of the blue saying that they had married in Boston. My parents had always hoped that June would have come home after going to college out East, but she left and ever looked back."

"Mike says that his mother doesn't like weddings and doesn't usually attend." Connie hopes that Millie can clear up this oddity in Mike's mother.

"June's got odd notions about weddings. She thinks that people should not spend a lot of money for a party to celebrate their marriage. I think she read that in some feminist magazine when we were young. Don't worry. The rest of the family loves weddings."

"I didn't mean –" Connie is taken aback by the implication.

"Of course not, dear. Tell me a bit about yourself. Are you from New York?" Millie deftly steers the conversation to a safer topic.

"I grew up in Brooklyn, went to college in the five boroughs and now I work in Manhattan. There isn't a more amazing city to live in. Have you been to New York aside from Mike's graduation?" asks Connie.

"A couple of times when Mike was a pre-teen and my parents weren't able to leave the farm. My parents didn't want Mike to come alone, so they sent me. Charlie and George both had families by then. Did all the touristy things. Went to the Empire State building, Statue of Liberty and the World Trade towers before they came down. Is Ground Zero built up again now?"

"They are in the midst of building a memorial and a few other buildings. None of it is finished yet though," says Connie wistfully.

"Were you there on 9/11?" Millie is hoping that she's talking to someone who actually witnessed the incident close up.

"No, I was still in law school, but one of my cousins was working in Manhattan when it happened. It was chaos. Because all subways and the bridges were closed, she had to walk home and it took her all day."

"Such a shame," Millie remarks. "If my parents were alive, they would have compared it to the attack on Pearl Harbor."

Just then, Mike appears and says to Connie, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure." Connie says to Millie, "It was wonderful talking to you."

"Same here, dear. See you both at the dinner."

"See you then Aunt Millie." Mike kisses his aunt on the cheek.

Mike guides Connie out of the reception hall at a quicker than expected pace.

Once they are on the sidewalk, Connie says, "What's the rush, Mike?"

"I just saw my mother arrive. I'm not ready to talk to her in a civilized manner yet and I'm not giving her more opportunities to try to belittle you than I have to." Mike's face is stern.

"You know that we will have to see her at the dinner." Connie reminds him.

"True, but I need some time to prepare."

"It's not a trial. You're not prepping to cross examine a hostile witness for the defense."

"No, but it sure feels like it. Besides, this gives me a chance to spend some alone time with you." Mike takes her hand and kisses it. "Do you want to go for a drive?"

**A/N2:** So what do you think of Mike's Mom? His Aunt Millie? Would love to hear from you.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I am so sad and angry that NBC and Dick Wolf couldn't agree and the Mothership has been canceled. I am still in shock and cannot believe it. Just to reassure my readers, this story will continue to a logical conclusion. Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Lookout Point, Wygant State Park, Oregon, Saturday, February 6**

"Where are we?" asks Connie. Mike is pulling into a scenic spot.

"Lookout Point. You can see pretty far from here. Let's walk down to the lower level."

Mike helps Connie walk down some steps to a bench where he motions for her to sit next to him. As she does, he puts an arm on the back of the bench behind Connie's shoulders.

"Are you having a decent time?" asks Mike

"It's all right. Your family, aside from your mother, has been very nice. Not sure if we will want to tell the children that our first trip out of the city was to a funeral in small town Oregon, though," chides Connie.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise." Mike pulls Connie closer and Connie relaxes in his arms.

Mike looks at Connie and says, "Thank you for coming."

Connie looks up at Mike and says, "And what else would I be doing in New York City right now besides sitting alone in my apartment or in the office going over appeals on Woll convictions, while my boyfriend is on the other side of the country?"

"I love you." Mike leans in to kiss Connie before she can respond. Connie kisses him back more fervently than he expected and hands start to roam under coats. If it weren't the beginnings of February, Mike would have taken Connie right there. As is, he is taking advantage to get his hands on various parts of Connie that are normally too bold in public and everything in between.

"Mike. Stop it. People can see and might stop here."

Mike pays no mind and continues, but does say in between kisses, "We're … three miles … from anyone … with vantage point … and no one… comes here … other than …" Mike sudden stops talking.

"Than what, Mike?" Connie demands and pushes him away from her so that he can answer.

Mike trying not to look directly at Connie says, "To make out."

"You took me to a make out spot? Just because it was isolated enough thirty years ago, doesn't mean it is now. Maybe people still can't see, but how do you know they don't come here for other reasons these days?" Connie's voice progresses from incredulity to admonishment in three short sentences.

"I thought we'd get some privacy that we needed. If we weren't here for the funeral, what would we be doing?" Mike is sheepish.

Connie glances at him shyly at the thought and says, "But at least what we would be doing would be in the privacy of one of our homes with zero chance of indecent exposure."

"So what's so wrong with me taking you to make out point? It was one of my favorite spots the last few summers I spent here." Mike is not understanding Connie's issue.

"So let me get this straight," says Connie, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Not only did you bring me to what was the local make out spot thirty years ago, but you brought me to the local make out spot that you yourself have used in the past? What makes you think the police haven't changed their patrol patterns in thirty years?" The thought of being in at a make out spot that Mike has personally used with other girlfriends just makes Connie mad with jealousy and even she's surprised by the intensity of emotion it produces.

As if on cue, they hear a police siren coming down the road and passing the scenic spot, presumably on its way to a crime in progress. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back. Connie gives Mike a glare and starts walking to the car. Mike runs after her.

"Connie! Consuela, please!" Mike calls out as he almost reaches Connie.

That stops Connie. "Please take me somewhere where we can get coffee. I'm cold."

Connie is miffed at Mike but is willing to give him a chance to explain himself.

In the car, Connie gives Mike the silent treatment. After a few attempts, Mike gives up on conversation and moves to other methods of persuasion. Mike takes Connie's hand and caresses it, kisses it and massages with his thumb. By the time they arrive at a local café, Connie's mood has improved significantly, but she still hasn't forgiven Mike just yet. Connie, not wanting strangers to see that they have been making out by the trace evidence of lipstick on Mike's face, hands him a wet wipe before they exit the car.

They enter the café, which is trying really hard to be one with city sophistication, almost too hard. Mike motions to Connie to find them a booth in the nearly deserted café. Mike goes to order, pays and then joins Connie while the coffees are being made.

"Connie, please forgive me. I should have used better judgment."

"Why is it that you are so reckless sometimes?" asks Connie, now merely irritated at Mike rather than truly upset. "I like my share of fun, but I'm not your teenaged girlfriend. I'm thirty-three years old and I expect that you treat me as such. I didn't agree to get involved so that I can get arrested for indecent exposure. How would that look on our resume?"

"Does it help if I tell you that you make me feel like a teenager again?" Mike smiles, trying to be jovial.

Connie rolls her eyes and Mike knows that he's been forgiven. "I will try to be better. Again, I'm sorry."

Mike gives Connie his best contrite expression. Connie tries really hard not to smile and is unsuccessful. Their coffees arrive and they begin to drink companionably in silence.

After half their coffee is drained, Connie restarts the conversation. "So what's the strategy for dealing with your mother? I don't think we can keep running away, especially at the dinner."

Mike looks pained at the mention. "I've spent the majority of my adult life avoiding her, so that's been my strategy. I'm wide open on how to deal with that."

_Wide Open_. Those words bring Connie back to when they were strategising on what to do with her relationship with Woll when she had to testify as an unindicted co-conspirator at Woll's trial. _How far have we come since then?_

Thinking for a second, Connie says, "I think we should be polite to her and stand our ground. She's looking for one or both of us to crumble. Let's not give it to her."

When Mike says nothing, Connie continues, "I know that you'd prefer to run away, but I think that it would be better going forward to stand our ground, especially if you still see me being around long term."

Mike finally responds. "Yes, I'm firm on that. I know you're right. It's just difficult to change a strategy you've been using for over twenty-five years in an afternoon."

Connie offers, "If it helps, I'll be there. I refuse to be cowed by your mother and I would think that a District of Manhattan, Executive Assistant District Attorney should be able to stand up to his mother."

Mike takes Connie's hand and looks her in the eye. "It will definitely help for you to be there."

Connie can't help but feel sorry for Mike when he's like this. The normal cocksure Mike Cutter turned into a timid boy by the mere thought of confronting his formidable mother. It was the fact that he trusted her enough to show his vulnerabilities that eventually crumbled her reservations of another work place relationship.

They hang out at the café until it's time to go to the family dinner. The drive to Gillespie's is quiet aside from the hum of the engine, but the energy is confident. Connie runs a brush quickly through her hair and touches up her make up. They arrive ten minutes early at the restaurant and only a few of the family have arrived. They've been given a private room in the back. Wanda and Millie are sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room. Millie waves them to the table where she and Wanda are sitting.

When they get there, Millie looks Mike in the eye. "Your mother was looking for you after you two left. She demanded to know where you were off to. I told her that you were just going to show Connie some of the sights around here. I hope that you've had time to cool off."

"Yes, we went to Lookout Point and then had coffee at City Café. Don't worry, Aunt Millie. We won't cause a scene."

"I'm glad we understand each other." Millie gets up and says, "Let me introduce you to some of the newer members of the family."

As people trickle in, Millie chats and makes introductions. It's obvious to Connie that Millie is very fond of Mike. From everything that she's seen, Connie is pretty certain that Millie is fonder of Mike than his own mother. There's laughter and chatter that Connie is familiar with from her own family gatherings and this is the most relaxed she's seen Mike outside of work. If this is what he's like a family function, Connie thinks that Mike might actually enjoy meeting her family. It's when Mike and Connie are talking to Greg and Wendy about their impending baby that a sudden silence falls in the room. Everyone looks over to the cause of the hush and June Cutter has arrived. Resplendent to the point of almost being ostentatious, she walks to the table, where Wanda is sitting and they start to speak to one another and the laughter and chatter return but only to a more subdue level.

When Mike and Connie finish their conversation, Millie whispers to Mike, "Looks like she will be sitting with us. You should go talk to her first before she gets truly argumentative." Mike nods and leads Connie back to their table.

Waiting for a suitable opening, Mike says, "Hello, Mother. I'm sorry we missed you at the reception."

June Cutter turns to look at the pair with slight disdain. "Hello, Michael. Ms Rubirosa, did you get an opportunity to see this quaint town?"

Connie smiles at June trying to be pleasant. "Please call me Connie, Ms Cutter. Yes, I did. Mike showed me where he used to play baseball, the general store where he bought his baseball cards, and we passed by the hospital where Mike got his cast from when he broke his arm sliding head first into second base."

"I abhor nicknames, Ms Rubirosa, what is your given name?"

"Consuela, Ma'am." Connie's smile is less pronounced.

"Consuela, did you enjoy the sights, such as they were?"

"I did. It's always nice to see the childhood haunts of your significant other." Connie, though eminently polite, puts an edge to her answers.

"Consuela, what do you do?"

"I'm an Assistant District Attorney for the District of Manhattan. I work at the same office as Mike." Connie can feel Mike's impatience with this line of questioning from the feel of the arm she's holding.

"How long have you worked there?" The questions from June are coming at a more rapid pace.

"Five years." Connie is ready with her answers. It's like a verbal fencing match.

"Where did you graduate law school?"

"Cornell cum laude."

"And your undergraduate degree?"

"Swathmore. Political Science. Ms. Cutter, may I ask what is the purpose of this line of questioning?"

"I am trying to ascertain what type of person you are, Consuela."

"Mother. All you need to know is that I love Connie and she loves me. The rest is superfluous." Mike is barely containing his anger. Connie squeezes his arm slightly to remind him to keep it from boiling over.

"Michael, I am merely looking out for your interests."

"At forty-five, I can look out for my own interests. I have been for over forty years."

Ignoring Mike, June looks at Connie. "Were you aware that my son stands to inherit a great sum of money from his father and myself?"

"No, not at all," states Connie. "Not that it makes any difference. I work for a comfortable living. I have no debts. I have a pension. I plan to continue in this manner regardless of what changes I may make in my life."

"Where is your family from?" June continues the assault.

"My father is from Spain," says Connie still not rising to the occasion. "My mother's family is originally from Mexico, but has been in the New York City area for many years."

Turning to Mike, June asks, "Michael, what are your intentions towards Consuela?"

Picking up the same tone his mother has been using, Mike replies, "Our intentions are our business alone. Should they change in any way that affects you, you will be informed accordingly."

June is placated by Mike's acknowledgment to keep her posted on major changes in his life and the frostiness begins to melt away. "Thank you, Michael. Consuela, you seem to have a good head on your shoulders. I hope that you can keep my son's recklessness in check."

With that, June dismisses Mike and Connie and she starts talking to George and Sarah, who have joined the table.

Just then, Tom comes by and says, "Mike, why don't you and Connie come join our table." Lowering his voice he continues, "Let the older folk sit together. Besides, Lisa is dying to have a chance to talk to Connie and I will hear about it for weeks if she doesn't get a chance now." Connie nudges Mike inconspicuously towards his mother.

Mike nods. "We'll be right there."

Before heading over to Tom's table, Mike leans down and says, "Mother, Connie and I will be sitting with Tom. We'll come by and say good bye before we go."

"Very well, Michael."

As Mike and Connie head to the table with Tom, Lisa, Bill and Linda, Connie leans towards Mike's ear and says, "Now that wasn't so hard was it?"

Mike leans in towards Connie's ear and says, "Thanks to you. I really love you, you know." Mike takes the opportunity to kiss Connie lightly on the cheek. Connie smiles.

Dinner flies by quickly with easy conversation and laughter. Tom gives a short speech before dessert is served saying that he wanted to thank all those who could come to honor his mother, those who came from far away nodding to Mike and Connie and to June. The joy and merriment in the room was exactly the way his mother would have wanted it and though she will be missed, she is suffering no more.

Before the dishes are cleared from dessert, there are a few email address exchanges and promises of recipe trading and people start to say goodbye.

Connie makes sure that they go to see his mother before they leave.

"Mother, Connie and I are leaving now. When is your flight out?"

"I fly out first thing tomorrow morning to San Francisco. While I'm on this coast, I might as well make a stop. I'm staying with George and Sarah. They will take me out to the airport tomorrow."

"Have a good flight, Mother."

"Yes. I'll email you when I get back to Connecticut next week." Turning to Connie, June says, "Consuela, it was a pleasure to meet you. I do hope that you and Michael can find some time to come visit me in Connecticut."

Connie does her best to smile when she says, "I will try, Ms Cutter. It was a pleasure."

"Good bye, Mother." June leans out her cheek to be kissed and Mike obliges after Connie urges him on with a squeeze of his arm.

Mike and Connie go in search of Millie, who is by the door saying good bye to the people leaving.

"It was good to see you again, Aunt Millie." Mike smiles broadly.

Millie smiles at her favorite nephew. "I'm glad you and your mother worked things out. Thank you for bringing Connie out here. Don't let another ten years go by before coming back for a visit. Please come back any time, both of you."

Connie smiles at Millie and says, "It was a pleasure to meet you. Please come out to New York to visit some time. We'd love to show you around."

Millie smiles back. "The pleasure's mine, Connie. I'll get Mike to give me your email address and we'll keep in touch. Have a safe trip home."

Millie hugs Connie first and then Mike and they head out.

**A/N2:** Did Connie's reaction to Mike taking her to Lookout Point ring true? Tell me whether you think Connie handled Mike's Mom well? I love to hear from you. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Now Mike and Connie start their part of the vacation weekend. What fun will ensue when they wake up in the morning and don't have anywhere to be? ;) Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, who has great patience with me.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Outside Gillespie's Restaurant, Hood River, Oregon, Saturday, February 6**

As soon as Mike gets into the car, he takes off his tie and throws it in the back. He then proceeds to undo a couple of buttons of his shirt before he puts his seat belt on and turns the ignition to head back to their hotel just outside Portland.

"That wasn't so bad," says Connie as she buckles up.

"Better than expected, thanks to you. That's the first time my mother has invited me to Connecticut since I graduated law school and she's lived at that house since the late nineties. Obviously, you were right. Standing our ground was the best defense."

"Ramp to I-84 West in two hundred yards." The GPS interrupts.

Mike continues, "Well, we've met my family obligations, we're free to start our own vacation now. What did you want to do tomorrow?"

"What's in the area to see?" Connie asks.

Mike glances at Connie and says, "I presume that the Portland Museums don't hold a candle to the ones in New York, so there's a nice drive to the coast. Have you been to the Pacific Ocean?"

"Once when I was two. My parents came out to visit my second cousins in California and apparently, we were at the beach. I don't remember any of it, but there are pictures. Don't get any ideas."

"Me? Ideas?" Mike is giving his fake incredulous look.

"Remember your mother wants me to keep your recklessness in check." Connie reminds him.

"Continue on I-84 for eighty-three miles to exit 18," chimes the GPS.

Mike thinks for a bit and says, "Well, aside from an old hang out I want you to see, I'm not sure what there is to do on a Sunday in February on the coast, but the drive is nice."

"Look, Mike. I don't need to be constantly on the go or be wined and dined to be kept happy. Sometimes I just want to do regular stuff with you. Right now being with you is enough."

"Well, I don't want to be known as Mike Cutter, a man who doesn't know how to entertain women."

"You are highly entertaining. Trust me."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Mike raises an eyebrow at this.

"Um, earlier this afternoon, you were Mike Cutter, man who takes his adult girlfriend to his favorite teenage make out spot!"

"I'm still sorry about that," says Mike. "I'm not sure what prompted me to do that."

"I'm sure it involved a part of your anatomy that usually doesn't do the thinking." Connie's eyes narrow.

"I've not heard any complaints about that part of my anatomy before." Mike shrugs.

"Well, it wasn't involved in decision making before." Connie smiles knowing Mike has no comeback.

Admitting defeat, Mike quickly changes the subject. "So what do you think of my family?"

"This is only half of your family. What about your Dad's side?"

Mike rolls his eyes. "There is no Dad's side. I think I met my father's father once in my life when I was five and my father's mother twice: once when I met grandfather and again at grandfather's funeral when I was ten, just before the divorce. I think my father has an older brother, but I've never met him. I don't think that even my father knows where to find him."

"If you haven't seen your mother in fifteen years, how long has it been since you last saw your father?" Connie wonders.

"I think it was just after I passed the bar. Yes, it was because he was passing through New York and had me meet him at the airport so that he could buy me drinks to celebrate. So that would make it about twenty years."

Connie has trouble grasping Mike's concept of family. "Doesn't it bother you that you don't connect with your family every so often?"

"Connie, I've never had a family that I've connected with on a regular basis unless you count the summers out here. Mother never came out with me after the first trip here. Either one of my grandparents or Aunt Millie would come and get me and bring me back until I was old enough to go on my own. After we moved to San Francisco when I was four, I never saw my father more than five days in a row again."

Just thinking of something, Connie asks, "Where were you born?"

"Iowa. Des Moines, Iowa. My grandparents and my mother had planned for her to go to Oregon to have me because of my father's crazy hours. They didn't want my mother to get stranded at home if her labor suddenly intensified. My father's job was in Des Moines at the time. My mother ended up with some condition that required hospitalization a couple of months early, so she never made it to Oregon. In the end, grandmother stayed with my parents for six weeks after I was born until my mother was able to find a nanny to take over."

"Mike Cutter, child of the corn." Connie giggles.

"Very funny." Mike is less amused.

Connie looks over at Mike. "Now that I've met your family. When did you want to meet mine?"

"Your call. I've never brought a girlfriend to meet my family before so there's no precedent."

"Are you free the weekend after next?" Connie inquires.

"Why don't you check my calendar?"

"Because you're my boss and although you have access to my calendar, I do not have access to yours."

"You know you can just try to look up availability by trying to book a meeting with me? I keep everything in my calendar," says Mike.

Connie pulls out her Blackberry and tries to request a meeting with Mike for the Saturday after next. After a few clicks, Connie clicks send. "Done. You were listed as busy on the Saturday morning, but free Saturday afternoon, so we will be attending my nephew's birthday party. Should I request a meeting for every thing we're doing together?"

"If it's something you don't want me to miss."

"OK. Next Sunday is Valentine's Day. Can I book you all day?" asks Connie.

"Didn't I already do that after you said you'd go with me to the funeral?"

Connie fiddles with her Blackberry and after a few clicks says, "Looks like you did. I must have missed seeing your meeting request. I have rules set up to accept your meeting requests unless it conflicts with a court date."

As Connie puts her Blackberry away, "What are the plans for Valentine's Day?"

"They are a secret that I am not sharing," says Mike smugly. "I want it to be a surprise."

"Hmmmm. You know I'm going to try to find out, besides, you have to give me some detail so I know how to dress," says Connie.

"It's all in the meeting request," says Mike.

Connie quickly pulls out her Blackberry and reads aloud the parts she doesn't understand. "…three outfits: casual one for the day, formal one for the evening and one for later on in the night. Where are we going that will require me changing twice?"

"Well, there's the day activity, followed by dinner at a formal location and I'm pretty sure that you can guess what that last outfit is for." Mike grins.

"So I'm staying over on a Sunday night?"

"Or staying with me somewhere," says Mike mysteriously.

"Then I'm looking at four outfits as I'm sure none of the three will be suitable for work the next day."

"I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. It'd be different if it was a Saturday night as you could go home in the casual outfit. So do you want to amend the meeting item and send it back to me so that we're synced?" asks Mike.

After a few clicks, Connie says, "Done. Just thought of something, when does our red eye get in on Monday?"

"8:00 in the morning, I think, check your calendar."

Connie clicks a few more times. "8:05 actually. Did you want to come over to my apartment for a change? You can stay over and on Tuesday I'll head into work while you can make a stop at yours on the way in. That way we can extend this vacation since we took Monday off anyway."

"That sounds good. C-"

Before Mike can continue, Connie says, "No, I'm not going to put that into your calendar." Connie puts away her Blackberry for hopefully the last time and says, "I'm beat. Do you mind if I take a short nap while you drive?"

"Go ahead. It's past midnight our time. I had an extra cup of coffee with dessert. I should be fine. Do you mind if I put on some soft music?"

"No." Connie settles in the chair, closes her eyes and starts to doze.

Mike finds a jazz station and settles in for the next half hour drive to their hotel. At the end of a series of songs the announcer says, "Lovely, melodious music – Life is good." Mike looks over at the sleeping Connie and can't help but think, _It is indeed_.

* * *

"Wake up sleepy head. We're here." Mike had just parked his car and unbuckled his seat belt.

"Hmmm?" mumbles a sleepy Connie.

"Time to get up unless you want me to carry you to our room upstairs."

"No – no, I'm awake." Connie unbuckles her seatbelt, stretches and checks if she's drooled in her sleep. She didn't.

"There's not a lot to take upstairs, is there?" says Mike as he grabs his tie out of the back seat.

"Nope. I just brought my purse and you, your Blackberry."

Mike checks for the telltale lump in his breast pocket. It's there.

"Let's go then." Mike exits the car.

Connie grabs her stuff and follow suit, still a little groggy from her nap.

They get into their hotel room and Connie calls dibs on the bathroom.

Knowing that Connie will take at least ten minutes to take off makeup and change, Mike dumps the suit jacket on the back of a near by chair and the vest follows suit with the already discarded tie hanging over both. He lets Connie know before he heads down to the ground floor to use the hotel bathroom. The coffee was weighing on his bladder.

On the elevator trip back to their room, Mike can't help but smile. _I can't believe that Connie's strategy worked with Mother. Where was Connie when I was twenty? Would have saved twenty-five years of anguish. She was eight! You cradle robber. _Visions of an adult Connie, clothed and not dance in Mike's head._ It's a good thing then that she's not eight anymore. If she's OK with the age difference, then you should be, too. You're only as old as you feel, right?_ Mike is distracted by visions of Connie to really think much more.

When Mike gets back, Connie was just settling into the bed. Mike quickly discards the dress shirt, pants and sock, and joins her.

Mike turns off the light on the nightstand, spoons Connie and says, "If I wasn't so tired, I'd seduce you."

"If you tried to seduce me, Mike, you'd be seducing a sleeping person."

"Goodnight, Connie."

"Goodnight, Mike. I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

When Mike wakes up the next morning, Connie is gone. On her pillow is a note that says, "I'm at the hotel gym. Join me if you want. Love, Connie." Mike quickly does an abbreviated bathroom routine, changes into his exercise clothes, grabs his room key, his Blackberry and a set of headphones and heads down to the small hotel gym.

Connie is running on the treadmill and it looks like she's been there a while. Connie has her small mp3 player going, but she sees Mike come in and smiles at him. He gets on one of the other treadmills beside her, puts his earphones on, starts his music and starts running. Twenty minutes after he starts, Connie is done her run and starts her cool down walk. She takes off her earphones and waves at Mike.

When Mike takes out an earbud, Connie asks, "How many more minutes?"

"I'd like to do another twenty, but I can work with ten for today."

"I'll give you fifteen and we can head up together."

"Sounds good." Mike replaces his earbud and continues to run.

Connie admires Mike's well-toned running form as she's doing her cool down. Mike is blissfully oblivious. _He's hot even when he's sweating and I just want to ravage him right here and now. What have I turned into?_

After ten minutes, Mike starts his cool down. He turns off his music and takes off his earbuds.

"Why didn't you wake me?" asks Mike.

"I tried, but you weren't responsive."

"Oh. It was a long and stressful day yesterday. I tend to sleep deeper when that happens. Sorry." Mike is sheepish.

"No worries. It gave me some time to think." Connie smiles.

"Should I be worried?"

"No. I always like some time to process events. It clears my mind for the next task at hand," says Connie.

"And what might that be?" Mike is very curious.

Connie smiles mischievously and says, "That's for me to know and for you to figure out."

"Does it involve us and a shower?" asks Mike full of hope.

"Perhaps." Connie suddenly turns off her treadmill, raises an eyebrow at Mike and leaves the small gym very quickly.

It takes Mike about fifteen seconds to figure out that Connie wants him to follow her and quickly. _Damn it! Why am I so slow on the uptake sometimes? You will pay for this, my sweet Consuela. _

When he sees the elevator down the hall, Connie is already in it and the door closes before he gets there. Their room is two floors up from where the gym is so Mike decides to take the stairs nearby. Running full tilt up two flights of stairs, Mike is a little winded by the time he gets to the door for their floor. He opens the door, walks through and sees Connie rounding the corner of the corridor. So he runs after her and manages to catch her as she's opening the door to their hotel room.

Mike grabs her wrist and says, "And where did you think you were going?"

"To our room to shower."

As soon as they are inside the room after sticking the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, Connie grabs Mike's shirt to pull him closer and kisses him. Mike uses his hand to close the door to their room quicker and pushes Connie against the wall, all the while kissing her.

Soon enough, tongues are involved and Connie's hands are creeping under Mike's workout shirt. Mike responds by pulling Connie's tank top up from the back to remove it. They separate long enough to get Connie's top off. Next item on the list is Connie's workout bra. After trying to figure out where the clasp is, Mike realizes that there isn't one and removing it will require separation again. Connie helps by taking it off herself while Mike removes his shirt at the same time. Soon the lovemaking begins apace.

* * *

Once the effects of the high start to fade, Mike and Connie both collapse on the bed. Mike pulls Connie into a hug and kisses her gently. The urgency has subsided and they are letting the endorphins take over as they relax in each other's arms.

After a short respite, Connie looks shyly at Mike and says, "If this is how you punish bad girls, I just might have to be bad more often."

Mike smiles, "Did you like it?"

Connie gives Mike a look of incredulity and says, "Are you kidding? That was absolutely amazing."

"I aim to please." Mike smiles and it remains plastered on his face.

Eventually, Mike gets up to clean up. He notices the time on the alarm clock on the nightstand, 9:48. Surveying the pieces of clothes lying all around the hotel room, Mike says, "It's almost ten. We'd better get cleaned up, packed up and ready to go."

"Must we?"

"If we didn't have to get back to New York, I'd be happy to stay here with you." Mike then heads to the bathroom to clean up. Connie follows him in and says, "I seem to recall something about us and a shower."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." Connie turns on the shower to warm up the water.

"Well, I will require some help after what happened less than an hour ago."

"Let's see what we can do about that."

Connie goes into the shower and leads Mike in after her. Connie takes the bar of soap and starts to lather Mike up. Mike takes the shampoo and starts lathering Connie's hair. After rinsing off, they switch the soap with the shampoo and continue their ministrations.

Since Mike's hair is easy to wash, Connie finishes quickly with Mike's shampooing, and he's free to lather her back. As he is working on her crevices, Connie can feel the effects of his cleaning her on him.

Mike can't resist the closeness of her flesh and he starts to kiss her neck as he draws her closer to him so that she can feel his eagerness for her against her back. His hands roam over her breasts and firmly squeeze them. Connie hears Mike nibble her earlobes before whispering in her ear. "Oh Connie, you are so beautiful. I just can't get enough of you."

Connie turns in Mike's arms to face him and she kisses him and he kisses back immediately. Mike's tongue then seeks entrance and Connie is more than happy to oblige. Connie's hands are running through Mike's hair and his are all over her slick, wet body.

Mike starts to move Connie against the wall and Connie manages to say, "Condom" in between kisses. Mike gets one out of his toiletry bag and puts it on before returning to the shower. As soon as he returns to the shower, Connie is all over him. He kisses her fervently before he positions her against the wall. The second session of lovemaking begins.

* * *

After they are done, Mike whispers into Connie's ear. "I love you so much." Connie is unable to speak but manages to kiss him on the cheek.

After riding out their highs against one another, Mike pushes against the tile with his hands to avoid crushing Connie and she slips off and puts her feet back onto the tub floor. Using the shower, they rinse off the residue. Connie exits the shower and begins to dry off. Mike takes the condom the rest of the way off and dumps it in the garbage. After cleaning up, he exits the shower as well, dries off and exits the bathroom after wrapping a towel around his midsection.

Connie quickly uses the toilet, dries her hair, brushes her teeth and puts on minimal make up since they have a red-eye back to New York before exiting the bathroom with her toiletry kit. When she gets out into the room, Mike has already dressed in a casual, travel outfit and is starting to pack up his clothes.

Since she never really unpacked her suitcase, she quickly gathers up her dirty laundry and puts it into her laundry bag. She pulls out a bra, some matching panties, some socks, a casual, comfortable top and some jeans. As quick as she can, she gets dressed and is done including shoes before Mike exits the bathroom with his toiletry kit. Connie takes the opportunity to look at her Blackberry to see if there have been any emails since yesterday. Seeing just a couple from the IT department, Connie gives it just a cursory glance before putting it away.

Mike exits the bathroom as Connie is putting her Blackberry away and asks, "Anything exciting?"

"No, just a couple of emails from the IT department saying that the upgrade they were doing was successful."

"You're looking very nice today." Mike stares at Connie with an almost wanton look in his eyes.

"Are you saying that after the two sessions we just had, that you still want more?"

"I'm just appreciating how you look today. Can't a guy appreciate how his girlfriend is dressed?" Mike feigns the hurt party.

"Mike, stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like you want to jump me right here and now, again!"

"Am not!"

"Would ogling be better?" asks Connie.

"I do not ogle," states Mike with some emphasis.

"Call it what you will, but you are staring more than is polite." Connie gives him the look.

"OK. I'll stop staring, if it makes you feel better. However, you do look very nice." Mike smiles.

"Thank you."

"Are you ready to go?" inquires Mike.

"Yup! I'm packed."

"Let's get going then. We have three minutes before check out. Let me have your room key."

Connie hands Mike the credit-card-sized piece of plastic.

"Why don't you bring the car around while I check us out?" asks Mike.

"Sure, if you give me the car keys."

Mike hands Connie the car keys. Connie puts on her jacket on, picks up her purse, her briefcase and extends the handle of her suitcase before dragging it out the door.

Mike puts on his jacket, puts his flight pack on his shoulders, takes his briefcase and follows Connie out.

**A/N2:** In my view, a car ride is an opportune time to chat. There is the occasional scenery to distract you but mainly you're sitting there doing very little when you're a passenger. As for the driver, he/she uses a different part of his/her brain to drive. Would love to hear what you thought of their chat after the funeral and dinner? I also see Connie as the fun loving type when it's within the bounds of the law. There will be more chases to come for Mike. I hope he can keep up! ;) I'd love to know what you think of this chapter! I reply to every review. Just ask my reviewers. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Okay, this chapter took on a life of its own. I started out with the intentions of having Mike show Connie where he spent his childhood summers and thought nostalgia would get in and it evolved into something else entirely. Darn Mike and his feelings! Thanks to those who have reviewed. I just love it when I get a review alert in my inbox. Oh the little joys in life. :) Even if you don't like something, let me know. It's hard to learn to do better if you don't know what you're doing wrong. As always, many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, who puts up with my angst about the mothership's cancellation on top of the regular duties of a beta. What would I do without your help and support?

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Westway Inn, Portland, Oregon, Sunday, February 7**

When Mike exits the hotel after checking out, Connie is waiting in the passenger seat of the car. Her briefcase and suitcase are already in the trunk.

"Here." Mike passes her a cup of coffee and a brochure through the window and goes to put his stuff in the trunk as well.

When Mike is inside the car, Connie hands him the keys and asks, "What is it?"

"A brochure for the place where we're going." Mike puts his own coffee in the car cup holder and buckles his seat belt.

"Cute little place. I'm surprised that it's open this time of year."

"It's on the 101, so it gets more traffic." Mike starts the car and punches a few buttons on the GPS.

"How far is the coast?" asks Connie.

After Mike pulls out of the driveway of the hotel, he says, "About an hour and a half. Traffic should be good, being a Sunday."

Connie is browsing through the small brochure. "How did you know about this place?"

"My grandparents had a small beach house near Cannon Beach and the family would go down for at least one week each summer. The rest of the summer it would be their rental property."

"Turn left at Oak street. Approaching ramp on right to Highway Twenty Six," chimes the GPS.

Turning left, Mike continues, "Knowing that we would be free to sightsee today, I asked Tom if this place was still around. He says it hasn't changed in thirty years. Every time the family went to Cannon Beach, we'd always have at least one meal there and then spend time in the trinkets shop."

"Sounds quaint," says Connie. "Since we have a bit of time on our hands, we should talk about the job situation."

"Approaching ramp on right to Highway 26," drones the GPS.

"We agreed that the situation we're in is only temporary and we will do what it takes to remove the conflict of interest." Mike goes to the heart of the debate from the start. "My issue with the job postings is that I didn't want you to sell yourself short. You are capable of much more than those job descriptions."

"I agree with that but conflict of interest is weighing heavily on me, so I want to get out of it as soon as possible." Connie is slightly terse in her reply.

The GPS breaks in again. "Continue seventy-eight miles to Highway 101."

"Just so you know, the conflict of interest is a significant issue with me as well." Mike glances at Connie as he speaks. "After Woll, I wrestled with myself for months over my feelings for you and whether I should even approach you on them, luckily you made that decision easier when you returned the interest. I was and still am willing to do what it takes to get us out of this compromising position without jeopardizing our relationship."

"I'm glad we're on the same page. You wanted to meet with Jack?" asks Connie.

"Yes, I think that he can provide valuable insight."

"When did you want to meet with him?" Connie is curious.

"The earlier the better."

Connie pulls out her Blackberry and starts to go through her calendar. "There's a half hour slot Tuesday afternoon or an hour slot first thing on Wednesday at nine o'clock. I'd rather not try to catch him during lunch or on his way out. We had a forty-five minute conversation when I spoke to him about my desire to transfer to white collar crimes after the abortion case, which I'm very glad he made us work out instead. Hard to believe I didn't want to work with you anymore after that case."

"I'm very happy how things worked out for us in the end. I agree that we shouldn't try to catch him. Let's take the Wednesday slot. Can't hurt to have more time than we need."

Connie clicks a few keys, then looks up and asks, "What did we want to call it so that Jack doesn't blow us off or that Maureen doesn't turn our lives into the only water cooler gossip for the next six months?"

Mike thinks about it for a bit and says, "Call it 'Discussions regarding future cases.' That should peak his interest, sounds vague enough to avoid it becoming gossip and would be something that would normally involve you and technically, it is in regards to future cases."

Connie clicks the Blackberry a few more times and says, "Done. I think we should set a deadline on how long we should wait for a transfer opportunity within the DA's office before making serious considerations outside. With the economy the way it is, it may be difficult to get anything and I want this conflict of interest to end as soon as possible. Letting it continue is just being reckless."

"Let's give Jack three months to find you a suitable position. There are a lot of retirements happening these days. You may be pleasantly surprised by the choices available."

"OK. Say in three months, we're still here and see nothing in the horizon. What then?" asks Connie.

"If it will make you feel better we can both look for job postings starting tomorrow. If we find something that's suitable, you apply, but just keep an open mind on what Jack can help us find within the DA's office," says Mike.

"Just so you know. I'm going to let you lead the discussion with Jack. So you should be prepared to open the discussion especially if Jack is unprepared."

Mike grimaces. "I have a sense he already knows what's going on. In the middle of the Woll case, I spoke to him about how I didn't get involved with people I work with. He didn't seem too surprised that you were taking the same time off as me when I told him last week about my aunt."

"So now you're going into Jack's office to discuss how you are involved with me?" Connie can't believe that Mike went to Jack to discuss her.

"I was in denial then. I'm not in denial now." Mike reaches for Connie's left hand to hold it.

"I'm very happy that you are no longer in denial." Connie smiles at Mike.

"I've been meaning to ask you something. How do you see our future together? You know my intentions."

"I haven't thought that much further ahead," Connie admits. "I know I love you and I want to be with you. I guess I see us getting married at some point and having children. I wouldn't want to wait too long due to age considerations and not just from a fertility point of view. I guess I'd like to buy a home before the children arrive."

"You also mentioned that you didn't want to work our hours when there are children."

Connie nods and says, "I've seen what it does. My brother and sister-in-law are both research oncologists and they rarely get to see their kids. Actually with their schedule, I'm really surprised that they have four kids. They have two nannies so that there is never a conflict in schedules. They even bring the nannies on vacation and to family functions. My Mom is always commenting that those nephews and nieces listen the their nannies more than to Carl and Laura. I would be embarrassed if my children minded the nannies more than me."

Mike looks at Connie sheepishly, "I think I used to mind my nannies more than my mother. Of those I remember, I felt a closer connection to them than to my parents. I certainly saw much more of them than I did my parents."

"How long did you have nannies?"

Mike lets go of Connie's hand to signal so that he can pass a slow moving truck. "Until I was in first grade. I only remember two of them. Alma and Saria. Alma was around until I went to Kindergarten and Saria was there until I went into first grade. Alma used to live with us. When I had nightmares, I would call for Alma. I remember being surprised when I called for Alma one night and my mother showed up. I guess I must have been in kindergarten by then. Saria didn't live with us but she was there before I went to school and when I came home. I only saw my mother at dinnertime, if she wasn't at a function and on Sundays when Saria was off and for as long as I could remember, my father was always traveling."

"Why did your parents stop using nannies in first grade?" asks Connie.

"I was eligible for boarding school, which I deeply hated." Mike admits. "I did everything I could to leave and because of the ruckus I made, I was asked to leave after a month. My parents considered sending me to another boarding school, but money was tight and since I was older, they ended up sending me to a local private school."

"Your aunt said that it was because you cried so much, you were sent home."

"That's the story my mother made up," Mike shares. "She didn't want it known that I was a troublemaker. That way my grandparents would take pity and take me for the summer. My mother knew how to push buttons."

"Some might say, she still does." Connie mutters under her breath.

"Turned out for the best for me anyway," Mike admits. "Here I found family who loved and nurtured me, who spent time disciplining me when I was out of line and, who included me in their lives. If it wasn't for my summers in Oregon, I probably would have turned out much worse."

"I, for one, am glad that you turned out as well as you did." Connie smiles.

Mike takes a sip of coffee and says, "Are you hungry? I just realized that we haven't eaten yet today."

"A little, but I can wait until we're at the coast," says Connie. "This countryside is beautiful. When we traveled as a family, we rarely left cities and we certainly don't drive between them. I've never driven through such mountainous terrain. You know, we should take a drive somewhere sometime. There must be places to see outside the City."

"If you'd like," Mike offers. "It's been a while since I last drove this much. I don't tend to get out of the city very often, there's never been an incentive, but if you'd like to go for a day drive sometime, we could go."

"I'm finding that it's very peaceful to drive around in the countryside. It's definitely not the same as driving in the city. I'm also enjoying the chance to talk without interruption." Connie smiles at Mike.

Mike smiles back. They enjoy a lull in the conversation as they think their own thoughts and they admire the scenery of western Oregon.

After passing a few mountain peaks, Connie says, "So, exactly how many children do you envision?"

Mike thinks for a bit. "I don't know. More than one? I hated being an only child. My mother was above co-mingling with other mothers, so when I wasn't at some after school activity at the school, I spent a lot of my childhood alone in my room. I would have loved a playmate."

"You know that you don't always play with your siblings? You fight with them, too." Connie reminds him. "Then there's the cost of tuition, especially college tuition."

"So I guess we aren't sending the children to public school?"

"Did you go to public school?" asks Connie.

"No, but my mother was a snob."

"Well, unless we happened to live in a neighborhood where the schools are good, which usually means the price of the house is exorbitant, it's a good idea." Connie informs Mike.

"OK. Private schools it is. How many children are you envisioning?"

"Two, I think, especially with your aversion to only children," Connie thinks aloud. " I don't think that we have the time for more than two. That way they will have a playmate and we'll have enough time to spend with each individually. I love my larger family but unless I was a stay-at-home mother, which I don't plan to be, I doubt that there will be the time for more than two."

"You know, Connie. This is one of the things I love about you. You know specifically what you want out of life. You know what you can handle and I'm happy just to follow your lead. I wish I was as clearheaded about these types of things as you are. All I know is that I wanted you in my life, beyond that I have no idea." Mike is full of admiration.

"You're making me blush." Connie blushes prettily.

"Well, it's true and there's no point in beating around the bush. I think you should know what I think and how I feel about you," says Mike.

"I think you made it abundantly clear this morning how you feel." Connie reminds him.

Mike smiles at the memory.

They return to enjoy the beautiful scenery around them and they each are lost in the own thoughts. Connie spends most of her time looking at the scenery around her and Mike sneaks a few looks at Connie when he's doesn't need to put his full attention into looking at the road. Every time he looks at her, Mike still can't believe that she's his and he wonders if he will ever believe that he's not dreaming.

* * *

When they arrive at their destination, it is a modest-sized wooden cabin on the side of the highway away from the ocean. The style outside and in makes it undoubtedly built in the fifties and it seems the owner hasn't redecorated since. The large painted sign by the road states that it's the best seafood place in Cannon Beach.

The cabin is separated into two halves: one half is a restaurant and the other half is a trinkets shop. It isn't crowded even though it is a little after twelve-thirty in the afternoon when they arrive, though it isn't empty either. They stand in line to get some lunch, which is freshly made. Connie is surprised to find that the menu isn't entirely fried since the looks of the place harkens back to an era when calories and trans fats weren't as big a concern as it is today. The food is mainly local fish and other seafood.

After they settle at a table and Connie tastes a spoonful of the soup she ordered, she says, "This is an amazing seafood soup. It's better than anything I've ever tasted."

"Would I drive an hour and a half to take you somewhere below par? And now you know why my family would come here at least once every summer." Mike chows down on his own food. "Did you want a taste of the tuna steak?"

"Sure." Mike takes a small chunk with his fork and lets Connie eat off of it.

"Mmmm. That is amazing, too."

"Just so you know, it's even better in the summer when the catch is fresh. This is all made from frozen fish because the fishing season hasn't started."

"We have to come here whenever we're out here again." Connie shakes her head in disbelief.

"What's the matter?" Mike is concerned.

"It's just that I sort of feel out of control here." Connie confesses. "For a guy I've technically been with for about a month, I'm already thinking of things like changing jobs and coming out to this restaurant halfway across the country in the future with you. I feel like I'm in a whirlwind but at the same time it just feels right."

With Mike looking slightly alarmed, Connie reaches her hand out to his to reassure him. "I know what your intentions are and I'm not trying to break up with you, but I guess I just need a little time to get use to the idea of us as a long term thing. I know for a fact that if I told my best friend that we've only been together for about a month and that I've come out here with you for a funeral and we're planning our lives together, she'd tell me I'm nuts. Heck, if she told me she was in our situation, I'd have said she was nuts, but for some reason, it just feels right."

Mike puts down his utensils, takes her hand and kisses it. "It feels right because we're meant to be together. I know it. If it makes you feel better, each time I look at you, I feel like I'm in a dream. Even though we've been together for a month, I'm afraid that any moment, you'll come to your senses or someone will pinch me awake."

"Oh Mike. You don't have to walk on eggshells like that. Even though I'm not used to the idea of us long term yet, it doesn't mean I'm just going to change my mind overnight." It was the most vulnerable she had seen Mike. The guy whose ego is well-known at Hogan Place has put his heart out there for her to care and love it or stamp it flat. It made her feel more secure in her love for him while at the same time, allows her love to grow.

Looking around at the other patrons who were trying not to stare at them, Connie smiles at Mike and says, "We'd better finish eating before we cause a scene here."

Coming to his senses, Mike looks down at his food and says, "Yes, that's a good idea."

Though they ate the rest of their lunch quickly in silence, Mike still sneaks a few looks at Connie as she's eating and when she catches him, she smiles back at him.

After lunch, they spend some time in the trinkets shop where Mike insisted on buying Connie a memento of their first vacation. After looking around, Connie settles on a small elegant music box made from tiny seashells. As they are walking out of the restaurant, Mike says, "Did you want to check out the beach? We've got a few hours before the sun sets."

"Sure that would be nice. I wouldn't mind touching the Pacific Ocean again." Connie's feelings for Mike are warm and fuzzy right now and she is willing to spend some alone time with him anywhere.

"It will be rather cold this time of year," Mike warns.

"That's fine. I don't mind."

Mike and Connie drive to the beach, park and get out of the car. Standing at the entrance of the path to the beach, Mike takes Connie's hand and they walk toward the beach.

"Every summer, when we came down here for that week, Tom, Bill, Matt and I would be on this beach every day. When we were younger, Uncle Charlie or Aunt Faye would come with us. Eventually, we would just come here by ourselves. My grandfather had a tab at the beach's food stand and all we'd have to do was to tell the guy behind the counter what we wanted and to put it on grandpa's tab. I learned to swim here."

"Sounds like an idyllic time for you." Connie looks at Mike and he is looking wistful.

"It was something I looked forward to every year." Mike smiles at the memory.

The arrive at the beach and Mike pointing to the north towards a spot where a building used to be says, "That's where the food stand used to be and over there was where we rented surf boards when we got older." Mike points to the opposite side of the beach. "The local surfers would hang out there and tell you stories of the best waves."

As it was February, the beach was essentially deserted. Mike and Connie still walk around for a couple of hours holding hands. Connie gets to touch the Pacific waters and it is cold. Mike skips a few rocks on the waves. Every so often Mike would point something out to Connie and tell her another story about his childhood summers in Oregon.

After the two hours, they sit down at one of the benches by the path. Mike has his arm around Connie's shoulders and Connie is leaning her head against Mike's shoulder.

"You know, this is probably the best visit I've had to this beach." Mike kisses Connie on the head. "I've always come here with my grandparents, my aunts, uncles or my cousins, but this time, with you, I like it that I'm actually sharing this time with someone who wants to be here with me rather than someone sharing their time with me because they feel obligated. My mother's family did love me but it was more obligation having me there. I'm so happy to have you here. I -" Mike stops, afraid that what he might say would break the moment. Connie lifts her head, looks at him and with the look encourages him to continue, "I want to bring our children here someday."

Afraid to look Connie in the eye, Mike looks at the setting sun before saying, "I know that I keep bringing up our future together. But ever since we got together, that's all I think about. When I look at you, all I want, when I'm not afraid that it's a dream, is growing old with you." Mike takes a quick glance at Connie before continuing, "I love you with all my heart. I just want to be with you. I can't bear the thought of not seeing you or hearing your voice every day."

Connie is about to say something, when Mike looks at her and interrupts her. "If you think that I say this to every girlfriend I've had, you are sadly mistaken."

"Actually, what I was going to say was, that is probably the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me."

Connie looks deeply into Mike's eyes, leans a little closer towards Mike and Mike leans a little closer until their lips touch. The kiss is far more chaste than any kiss they have had up to this point. What this kiss contained that wasn't yet present in their previous kisses was pure, true love.

After what seemed like forever and the sun setting ever lower, Mike breaks the kiss, clears his throat and says, "Umm. As much as I'd like to continue this here, I think that it might be in our best interest to head back to the car before we lose all light."

"That's a good idea." Connie straightens her clothes up and picks up her purse.

Connie involuntarily licks her lips. Mike groans and says, " Please don't do that again or there will be a good chance that we would be arrested for indecent exposure and we would miss our flight."

"Do what?" asks Connie.

Mike grimaces a little and says, "Lick your lips."

"Oh, sorry," says Connie sheepish. "I'll try to remember not to."

"Let's go." Mike gets up from the bench.

Connie hands him a wet wipe. "You may want to remove the remnants of our kiss before we leave."

"Good idea." Mike takes care to remove Connie's lipstick from his face. He then tosses the wipe in the nearby garbage can and holds out his hand for Connie to take.

Connie takes his hands and gets up. They walk hand in hand out of the beach toward the car.

"Did you want to see the house my grandparents had? I think that the ownership was split among the children when they died. I guess that means that my mother owns a share of it."

"Sure," says Connie.

They drive for just over a minute before Mike points to an older looking two-storey house. The house looks boarded up for the winter.

"Looks like they kept it up. If I had a key I'd consider showing you the inside, but I don't. Maybe the next time we're here, we can stay here."

Connie smiles.

"What?" asks Mike.

"Nothing. I'm just trying to imagine you as a young boy staying here."

Mike says, "I'm sure that Aunt Millie has a few pictures of those summers. You can ask her for them if you want. I have nothing to hide from you."

"Maybe I will." To Connie, it seems like they are now connecting on a different wavelength.

"What did you want to do for dinner? We have about an hour and a half drive back to Portland and we have three and a half hours before we have to get to the airport."

"Do you know of a Chinese place here? I wouldn't mind having some."

"They didn't have one thirty years ago, but there must be one now. Let's see what the GPS says."

Mike punches a few buttons and the GPS pops up a location in town.

"Looks like we're in luck. There's one two minutes from here."

**A/N2:** Was that scene with Mike and Connie at the beach romantic or what? Mike just ran off with that scene. It was February in Oregon so the temperature couldn't have been more than in the 50s, but I don't think Mike or Connie noticed or cared! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Sorry this is such a short chapter. Where I ended this part just seemed to be somewhere logical to end. I will post more soon. Thanks as always to my beta, Tripp3235. Her insight makes this fic better. :)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Fortune Gardens Restaurant, Cannon Beach, Oregon, Sunday, February 7**

After they are seated in a quiet table in a corner at the restaurant and the waiter has taken their order, Mike pulls out his Blackberry. Connie gives him a look.

"It just beeped. Looks like I'm running low on battery." Mike looks a little sad.

"You can charge it when we get to my place tomorrow morning. The world isn't going to end if you turn if off on a Sunday night. Besides, you can't turn it on while we're in the air anyway."

"You're right." Mike turns off the Blackberry and puts it back in his pocket.

After fiddling with various items on the table for several minutes, amusing Connie significantly, Mike says awkwardly, "Umm. I just thought of something that I probably should have asked you before. Umm –"

"Just spit it out, Mike." Connie smiles in encouragement.

"Umm. Are we using some other form of birth control other than condoms?"

Connie blushes deeply and is very glad that they were seated away from other patrons. She can't quite look at Mike when she answers. "Uh. Sometimes. When I have the opportunity, I-umm-remember to use spermicidal jelly. Why are you asking this now?" Connie says the last bit through gritted teeth.

"It's just that I was thinking about something else and realized that we hadn't –ummm - talked about this."

Still not looking at Mike in the eye, Connie says, "If you must know now, I have a doctor's appointment this week on Thursday to look at alternatives."

"Oh good to know. Just so you are aware, I emailed my doctor last week and I have to go to the lab this week to run a battery of tests to ensure I have a clean bill of health before we consider a different form of birth control."

Connie looks at Mike puzzled, but doesn't ask the question.

"I don't have an issue with the current method. My concern is failure."

"Oh." Connie's demeanor is softer when she realizes what he's getting at.

"Not that if there was a failure and a resultant conception that I wouldn't propose right away and marry you, but I don't want that to push you into something you're not ready for."

Connie is again pleasantly surprised by Mike's constant concern for her well-being and how outward pressures would push her into something she not absolutely sure about.

Connie reaches out and takes Mike's hand into her own and says, "Thank you for your concern. I know that your heart is in the right place."

Just then their food arrives and they spend the rest of the meal discussing whether they liked the food here better or the stuff that they get for take out at work.

* * *

At the airport, Mike is pacing. The drive back from Cannon Beach was dark but uneventful. Connie took the opportunity to take a short nap. The car return had gone smoothly. They had gone through security with less hassle this time and they are just waiting to board. Connie took some Woll work from her briefcase and is reading. After about his fifth trip across Connie's field of vision, she says, "Why are you so agitated? You're about to wear out the carpet by the window."

"I'm just figuring out a few things and I find my thoughts flow more freely when I'm moving."

"At this rate, you'll have world peace figured out before we board." Connie is mildly amused. She knows from working with Mike the last couple of years that he can rarely sit still and this just confirms why he's always in motion at the office and in court. Still, it's a bit more movement than she's used to.

Mike's pacing becomes almost frantic when he takes out his Blackberry and finds out that the battery is too low to turn on.

Taking pity on him, Connie reaches into her purse for her Blackberry and asks, "Would you like to borrow this?"

Mike's eyes nearly glow at the offer. "Thank you! You're the best!" Mike gives Connie a quick kiss on the forehead and proceeds to channel nearly all of his pacing energy into the PDA. He even sits down beside Connie as he looks up various things.

"Don't over use my data limit or you'll have to approve for the extra charges when they come through. I'm not paying for them." Connie knows that Mike routinely overuses the data limit set by the office for all ADAs, as she has often overheard various conversations that Jack has had with Mike over overusage fees.

"Yeah, no problem." Mike is already distracted by his engagement with Connie's Blackberry.

Connie tries again to read the motion in front of her, but now Mike's intense negotiation with her Blackberry is distracting her. Connie is amused by Mike's intensity. Reflecting on the recent change in their relationships status, Connie now realizes that Mike does nothing by halves and while it is amusing in certain situations, it can be overwhelming in others.

Take for example, his earlier confession of love and fear of rejection at the trinkets shop and at the beach. It was a little overwhelming to find out the intensity of his love for her and his constant fear that she will toss him out at a moment's notice. Connie is not without feeling but she has generally been in control of her emotions. Perhaps that is why she has always worked so well with Mike and why she feels the attraction to him. His intensity of feeling, his passion for justice is such a contrast to her own. It reminds Connie of that Jane Austen novel that she had to read in junior high, _Sense and Sensibility_, where she is the sense to Mike's sensibility.

Perhaps that is why this relationship, though less in her control and seemingly a little more reckless for Connie, seems right. Perhaps they are two sides of the same coin, and really, how easy is it to extract yourself when the person you love sees you in such a light that you can do no wrong?

After another few minutes of trying to read the motion in front of her, Connie gives up, though not the pretense of reading and uses the opportunity to surreptitiously observe Mike. Mike is enthralled by the Blackberry and at times seems to worship at its altar fervently oblivious to his surroundings.

The intensity can be seen in Mike's face and Connie can visibly see when he has found what he is looking for and when he is frustrated by obstacles. Mike has never been good at hiding his true emotions except when dealing with defendants and defense lawyers and this is no exception. Connie can read him like a book and it is definitely more interesting that what she's trying to read.

Connie is vastly amused by the litany of expressions Mike is exhibiting and eventually, she can't help but giggle. Mike looks up at her and says, "What?" which only makes her giggle even more.

When Connie regains her composure, she says, "You are very amusing to watch. You're completely engaged with the Blackberry and if anyone were watching, they would be able to read you like a book. I take it that you don't play poker much."

"No, I'm not a gambler," Mike says distractedly.

"I wouldn't say that. You gamble with the juries, with the defendants, the witnesses at nearly every trial, but you probably don't play poker much because you don't tend to win and if I know anything about you, is that you like to win."

"How did you know?" Mike is surprised by Connie's observation.

"Just watching you since you borrowed the Blackberry, it's pretty obvious what you're thinking, when you are successful, when you are frustrated. What I don't understand is how well you mask your emotions when we're dealing with defendants and defense lawyers in comparison."

"Well, in court, I'm concentrating on how to get the witnesses to say what I want them to say or on how to get the jurors to understand my point of view."

"Just a thought, perhaps you should consider doing that more often in other aspects of your life. Dealing with defendants and defense lawyers aren't the only times where it can be useful."

Before Mike can reply, the airline announces their flight. Being in the last row of seats has its advantages. It means that you get to get on right after the first class passengers. So Mike and Connie start to gather their stuff so that they are ready to go when their seats are announced next.

* * *

Once the plane has taken off and is gaining altitude, a puzzled Mike asks, "What did you mean by the fact that I should consider acting as if I'm dealing with defendant and defense lawyers in other aspects of my life?"

"Something I never told you before is that Marcus Woll had you pegged even before his trial began. He waited outside my apartment the day I was to testify against him and told me that I was breaking your heart. I knew that you found me attractive right from the beginning of our working relationship, but I thought that I figured it out because we were working so closely together. To have Marcus Woll, say it that day almost threw me for a loop. It took a lot of mental preparation on the way to court to put myself back into the proper state of mind to testify."

"What? Woll was stalking you?" Mike is alarmed by this revelation.

"No, he knows where I live as I haven't moved since starting at the DA's office plus I don't have an unlisted number and now he's behind bars so I'm not worried. However, that isn't the point. The point is that after watching you at the gate I just realized that you don't hide anything unless you're in court. If we want to keep our relationship out of office gossip until I change jobs, I think that we have to be more careful in our interactions at the office. Mike, I know how you feel about me and I hope that you know how I feel about you. Perhaps, we can both show a little restraint in our interactions so that people can't tell right away what we feel for one another?"

Mike contemplates what Connie just said and thinking back in some ways she's probably right. He has been more flagrant in his behavior than he probably should have been. The fact that Woll caught on early should have tipped him off. The thing though is that he has always been a man of bold moves. Some might call it reckless, but Mike has always felt that bold moves are better than timid ones and he's a little upset that Connie is always shutting him down, especially at work. _She says that she wants to change jobs for 'us' and she says that she loves me, but why is she telling me to show even more restraint at work when we spend eighty percent of our time there? Is she just stringing me along? _

However, Mike is concerned that his behavior is causing Connie grief and he wants to show her that he can do better. "I guess, you're right. I will try to show more restraint in my interactions with you during work hours. However, I would offer a compromise that we spend some time together outside of work every day where I can be free to show my love for you. Otherwise, you are asking me to only show restraint with no way to show how I feel."

"It's temporary, so I'm certain we can work something out. Thanks for hearing me out, Mike."

"I'm glad you told me about Woll." Mike doesn't really want to think about the other part.

"I guess that means it's the end of your love notes. I really liked those," Connie confesses.

"I'll just have to be more discreet in where I put them for you to find then." Mike smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes though Connie doesn't notice this.

Since they aren't at work, Mike looks around to see whether a steward is looking their way and he sees none, he takes the chair arm between his and Connie's seat and moves it up so that it is in the seat cushions and he puts his arm around Connie's shoulder. She leans toward him and relaxes against him and he kisses her hair. Just then the cabin lights dim for the red eye flight. He takes a moment to enjoy the smell of her hair and her fading perfume. Despite the fact that he is now worried about how Connie feels about them, there is absolutely nowhere else Mike Cutter wants to be.

* * *

Their flight lands right on time at JFK and as expected, traffic is at a near stand still. By the time they get to Connie's apartment, it is after ten o'clock in the morning. After dropping their coats and luggage in a heap in the front hall, they stumble into Connie's bedroom and after a quick removal of any uncomfortable clothing; they collapse on the bed in utter exhaustion. The red-eye allowed them about three hours of semi-restful sleep before descent started. The journey to Connie's apartment during a normal Monday morning rush hour did nothing to help them relax.

Just before they fall asleep cuddled against one another, Connie in her bleary-eyed state says, "Don't forget to charge your Blackberry. My charger is on the front hall table." So Mike stumbles back out to the heap of coats in the front hall and barely manages to plug in the Blackberry properly. By the time he gets back to the bed, Connie is already asleep. Mike snuggles as closely as he can without waking her and promptly falls asleep.

**A/N2:** I should mention that I wrote first draft of the BC talk before Alana de la Garza announced her pregnancy and before the show was canceled they were planning to write it in (as according to her pregnancy announcement). [Soapbox]I'm a firm believer that two intelligent, well-educated adults, like Mike and Connie, should be able to talk about BC and use it if they are in a sexual relationship and don't want a resultant conception rather than letting the chips fall where they may on the off chance that they aren't fertile.[/Soapbox] If you've read my other fic, _Happily Ever After_, you know that Mike and Connie do get pregnant despite using contraception. I had written that piece before the show was canceled and it will remain in my little AU corner of the Mike and Connie universe regardless of what happens in the show/to the show.

**A/N3:** (Sorry, didn't mean to make this chapter longer by adding so many A/Ns. I tend to get chatty, just ask my beta.) So what do you think of Connie's observations? Is she right? Is Mike too flagrant with his behavior at the office? Does Mike have something to worry about with Connie? As always, would love to hear from you. :)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Jack makes an appearance by telephone in this chapter. I hope that I'm doing him justice. Sorry this took longer than usual to get posted. I'm currently working on the first draft of a companion Father's Day piece to Connie's First Mother's Day for _Happily Ever After_ due to make an appearance around Father's Day and it's taking more time than I have to devote to it, so there have been a few late nights. Have to say that not having new episodes to watch does help with the time factor, though I'd still prefer to have new episodes to watch over time to write. :/ Thank you to those who have reviewed thus far. They are greatly appreciated. :) Thanks as always to my beta, Tripp3235.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Consuela Rubirosa, Across from Morgan's Market, Monday, February 8**

Mike and Connie wake up a little after three in the afternoon after their exhausting red eye flight from Portland and trip to Connie's apartment. Connie makes them some coffee and Mike takes a look at his Blackberry now fully charged once more. While they are enjoying their coffee, Mike checks his emails and tells Connie that Jack emailed them that he accepted the meeting but wants to know what the meeting is really about. Mike calls Jack and leaves a message asking him to call back when he had a chance as he was back in New York.

"You know, you're technically still on vacation. It probably could have waited until tomorrow." Connie takes a sip of her coffee.

"Probably, but I didn't want Jack speculating with Maureen as to why you requested that meeting," says Mike.

"OK. I had originally planned to cook you dinner tonight, but I didn't expect to sleep in until three in the afternoon. I can only presume that you are as hungry as I am," asks Connie.

Mike nods as he is still going through his email on his Blackberry.

"Then why don't we get cleaned up and head out to a little Italian restaurant around the corner?" Connie suggests.

"Sure." Mike doesn't even bother looking up from his Blackberry.

Connie rolls her eyes, "Then we're going to run naked through New York City burning all the buildings along the way."

"Huh? What are we going to burn?" Mike asks.

"Please put down that Blackberry, Mike." Connie is getting frustrated.

"Mmmm." Mike is still tapping away on the tiny keys of the handheld.

Connie sighs, rolls her eyes again and tries a different tact. She goes up to Mike and starts to kiss his cheek and then moves down to his jawline and eventually ends up at the back of his neck. She continues to kiss him while snaking her hand underneath his shirt front. She can feel the goosebumps rise from the back of his neck and knows that she can extricate the the Blackberry at anytime. She kisses him around the neck, up his jaw and eventually kisses him on the lip as she reaches his lips, she pulls the Blackberry out of his resistless hands and puts it gentle down on the table.

Now Mike is fully engaged and he kisses her back fervently. Something Connie didn't expect. They stand in the kitchen kissing for quite a while before Mike says, "If we want to get to the Italian restaurant before they close, we might want to go shower."

"You were paying attention?" asks Connie.

"Mm-Hmm." Mike grins.

"Then, why?" Connie furrows her eyebrows.

"Because it was nice to see what you'd do to get my attention and you didn't disappoint." Mike smiles.

After shower sex, Mike and Connie quickly dress and head out. They walk hand-in-hand to the restaurant as the winter sun is just setting. Connie was unable to dissuade Mike from bringing his Blackberry as Jack had not returned his call, so it sits in Mike's coat pocket. Without the restraints of the office, Mike is positively beaming as he walks down the street. It is a side of Mike that Connie has rarely seen on this coast and it is something that she will miss when they are back in the office tomorrow.

Mike for his part is positively giddy. Despite the air travel times and conditions, he is well rested, he is relaxed, his relationship with his family is better than it has ever been and best of all, he has Connie to thank for his current state. Connie had spent a weekend with him and his family and she had not left him and that is a positive sign, though the conversation on their flight back still sits in the back of his mind. Mike, being a private person, doesn't often let people into his private sanctum. Connie was the most recent exception and it has thus far proven to be a good choice.

Mike looks over at Connie and then pulls her close. Mike kisses her on the temple and quietly says, "I think this might just be the best weekend I have ever had. Thank you. I love you so much.

Connie looks up at Mike shyly. "I had a good time, too."

Mike then leans over and gives Connie a kiss. Mike is about to deepen the kiss when his Blackberry rings. Mike disengages Connie and answers the phone.

"Mike Cutter."

"Mike, it's Jack. I got your message. You're back in the city," says Jack from the other end of the line.

"Jack. Yes, I got in earlier this morning. Just to keep you from speculating further, the meeting is about Connie's wish to transfer out of homicide as soon as it can work out." Mike takes Connie's hand and gives it a squeeze.

"I thought I told you to work it out?" Jack sounds puzzled over the phone.

"Actually, we did. This is about something else," says Mike.

"Oh. Would this have something to do with the fact that Connie sent the meeting request after midnight on Sunday morning and why she is also off today?" Jack wonders from his end of the phone line.

"It might. Look we can discuss this further on Wednesday. I just wanted to keep the speculation to a minimum," asks Mike.

"Agreed. See you tomorrow, Mike, and say hi to Connie for me." Mike can almost hear Jack smirking into the phone.

"I will. Bye Jack," says Mike.

Mike turns off the phone, looks at Connie who gives him the "and?" look.

"Jack says Hi!" says Mike.

"He knows?" asks Connie.

"He guessed correctly," Mike corrects Connie. "Like I said before, I think he knew the moment I told him you were taking the same time off as I was."

"Hmmm." Connie is uneasy.

"I don't think he has a problem if that's your concern. Knowing Jack, he will keep the knowledge to himself," says Mike.

"I certainly hope so," says Connie.

"Look Connie. Let's just go have dinner, enjoy the rest of the vacation day and worry about work tomorrow, OK? Worrying about it the rest of the day won't help," says Mike. They are in front of the restaurant.

"You're right. Let's go in." Connie is resigned.

After they place their order and the wine arrives, Mike asks, "So you know the owner?"

"I spent my first paycheck as an ADA here and have been back at least monthly ever since." Connie confesses.

"It's that good?" asks Mike.

"Wait until you taste it." Connie smiles.

"It's a good thing that we walked here. Wine on an empty stomach will be interesting." Mike comments.

"OK. I have to ask." Connie broaches the subject that she's been wondering about since Saturday night. "Can you give me at least a hint of where we're going on Valentine's Day?"

"It's a surprise." Mike is adamant.

"At the very least, I need to know how to dress besides casual, formal and provocative," says Connie. "Well, the formal and provocative part should be easy, but I would dress differently if we were to spend the day outside versus a day indoors. Can you at least give me that so that I can plan?"

Mike refuses to give in. "My advice. Dress in layers."

"That is absolutely no help!" Then Connie gets a mischievous look in her eye. "Well, you can't take your Blackberry with you everywhere."

"No, but it is password protected." Mike smirks.

Connie is crestfallen.

Before Mike can say something else, the waiter arrives with their salads.

"This salad is to die for," says Connie.

After taking a taste, Mike says, "It is very good. What do they put in their dressing?"

"I've been asking for years and I've even bought a jar to bring home once to try to figure it out to no avail." Connie shrugs.

There is a slight pause in the conversation as they eat their greens.

Mike finishes first and looking at Connie, he relents and says, "I will give you one hint on the casual Valentine's Day event. It will involve some outdoor activity followed by an indoor activity."

Connie finishes chewing her mouth full of salad and says, "That still doesn't narrow it down much, but at least it's good to know that if I don't dress warmly enough for the outdoor activity that I can warm up with an indoor activity."

After thinking about it a bit, Connie asks, "Does it involve ice?"

"No comment. I said that I would give you one hint and I have."

Their dinner arrives shortly there after. Connie is having chicken parmigiana and Mike is having veal piccata.

"You know, my Aunt Millie used to make the best chicken parmigiana," says Mike. "My grandparents were steak and potatoes people and so were Uncle Charlie and Uncle George. However, my Aunt loved to try a variety of different cuisines and her chicken parmigiana was the best. My mother wouldn't make it so when I got older, I learned to cook it myself so that I could have it year round. It also made my mother very happy because it meant that she didn't have to cook Sunday dinner much. When we have a free weekend, I'll have to make it for you. It's a tad time consuming, so I wouldn't want to rush through it."

"That sounds good. Want a taste?" asks Connie.

"Sure." Mike leans over the table to take a bite of Connie's chicken from the forkful she was holding out. "Mmmmm. Theirs is slightly different than the one I make but very good. Did you want to try the veal?"

Connie nods and Mike cuts a piece for her to try.

"I've tried their veal a number of times now and each time it is slightly different but amazing nonetheless," says Connie. "I didn't know you cooked?"

Mike admits, "I don't do much of it now as I never have time to do the dishes I like right, but when I was a teen, living with my mother, the alternative was roast chicken or some sort of take out every Sunday night. My mother liked good food, but she didn't like spending the time to make it and since she was still establishing her business, we didn't have the spare money to eat out often."

"What about your Dad's child support?" Connie asks.

"That essentially covered my tuition and other school fees," says Mike. "My mother didn't just send me to a private school. She sent me to one of the most expensive ones in Connecticut."

"What else do you make besides chicken parmigiana?" asks Connie.

"I also make a mean Rogan Josh, Palak Paneer, chicken souvlaki, and lemon chicken," says Mike with a bit of pride. "Aunt Millie and Aunt Wanda always had something other than steak and potatoes for dinner and I spent one summer living at their house when I got older, which was when I learned to cook all these dishes."

"Wow! That's a lot of different cuisines." Connie is very surprised by this revelation.

"Well, Aunt Wanda's parents moved about as often as my parents did as a child and she acquired a taste for them. When she settled in small town Oregon, she couldn't find restaurants that served these dishes, so she found cook books and learned to make all these herself. When she moved in with Aunt Millie, once a week they would try to make something new. The ones they like, they would throw it into the repertoire. Sometimes they had to stock up on some of the ingredients when they were in San Francisco because even Portland in the Seventies didn't carry some of the more exotic ones and it's not like they could have ordered it off the internet at the time."

Connie confesses, "After knowing you for two years, I never knew you cooked. I certainly wouldn't have guessed it by the look of your pantry. It's a pleasant surprise and here I thought I'd surprise you with a home cooked meal sometime."

"It's been years since I last really spent a lot of time cooking any one of these dishes," Mike confesses. "All these different cuisines require a different batch of spices and it seems ridiculous to keep spices around, when I never have the time to do the dishes justice as they lose their flavor over time. Not to mention that cooking for one is just plain depressing."

"Are there any other surprise abilities I should know about?" asks Connie.

"I can juggle. Does that count?" asks Mike.

"That I more readily believe than the cooking." Connie laughs.

"Is it that difficult to believe that I can cook?" asks Mike.

"It's not so much difficult as I have not seen any indication in the past two years that would make me think you cooked at all, never mind complicated dishes in a variety of cuisines." says Connie.

"Well, I guess I'll have to make a believer out of you sooner rather than later." Mike is determined.

"And I am looking forward to it." Connie smiles at Mike.

The rest of the dinner meanders into discussions regarding grocers, why certain cultures have odd delicacies, where one can find specific cuisines in New York City and other food related topics.

After dinner, though it is technically breakfast and lunch as well, Connie takes Mike to the local grocer where she picks up a few essential perishables that she didn't stock up on in the last week as a lead up to the weekend away, plus some snack foods for later since they only managed one meal today.

"What do you normally eat for breakfast before work?" asks Connie.

"Fruits when I have time, cold cereal when I don't and occasionally a danish from the coffee cart if I'm running late," says Mike.

"Let's get some fruit salad for tomorrow and a box of cereal for the future," says Connie. "I suspect that you'll be staying here more often in the future."

"I like that idea," says Mike. "In that case, you should stock up on some nuts as well. I find sometimes a small protein snack at the end of the day just hits the spot."

Soon they have all that they can carry back to Connie's apartment.

Walking into the front door of Connie's apartment, Mike says, "The evening is early and I promised that we'd start looking for jobs before the end of the weekend. Did you want to look for jobs online?"

"Let me put the groceries away. You can start up my computer in the spareroom." Connie says over her shoulder as she walks into the kitchen with the grocery bags in her hands.

"All right."

What Mike doesn't know is that Connie has other plans. After she puts all the groceries away and the grocery bags under the counter, she sneaks into her bedroom and changes into the provocative outfit she had brought to Oregon but never had the chance to use. She had promised to show Mike how much she loves him sometime over the weekend and tonight was her final chance.

The outfit is a simple one piece bustier with an underwire bra section to help lift and a really short skirt. Connie puts on a matching pair of bikini panties, some fishnet stockings in garters and a pair of heels that completed the outfit. She quickly styles her hair into a more provocative style and touches up her lipstick.

When Connie walks into the spare room, Mike is focused on the screen. She leans over his shoulder and asks in the most normal voice possible, "So what did you find?"

Mike turns to address her and he gets far as "Well-" before his lips fail to move and his mouth hangs open. Mike feels his mouth run dry. He blinks a few times before he has to readjust his sitting position due to a discomforting bulge starting in his pants. When he recovers enough to regain the use of this mouth. He manages a croak out, "Wow!"

Connie proceeds to sit on his lap and says, "Do you like this?"

Mike manages a slight nod and puts his arms around her middle to keep her there. There was no way he was letting her go.

"I told you I was going to show you how much I love you. Did you think I was going to let the weekend go by without taking care of it?" Connie smiles.

Mike manages to swallow some saliva so that he can speak. "This is more amazing that I ever imagined in my wildest fantasies about you."

"You fantasize about me?" asks Connie.

"Yeah. Nearly every day since the Woll trial. This is putting my fantasies to absolute shame," Mike admits.

Connie leans down and kisses Mike on the cheek. "This is for those beautiful roses last week." Then she kisses him on the ear and proceeds to nibble on his earlobe. "This is for all those love notes you sent." Connie then moves to his neck and says, "This is for all the times you look at me with adoration when you don't think I notice." Connie finally kisses Mike on the mouth and says, "This is for all the compliments you've given me in the last few weeks."

When Connie breaks off the kiss, Mike goes into action and pulls Connie to him for a deeper kiss full of want and desire. His right hand is gently squeezing Connie's left breast through the bustier. His left hand is riding up the short skirt and down underneath her panties to get a squeeze on her behind.

Mike breaks off the kiss long enough to say, "Oh God, Connie. What did I ever do to deserve you?" Mike shifts slightly to keep Connie from touching the distinctive bulge in his pants, which is getting tighter and more uncomfortable in the jeans he is wearing.

When Connie breaks the kiss again, she says, "How about we take this to the bedroom before you shift me off your lap?" Connie smiles at Mike.

Once their breathing returns to normal, Connie shifts a little to look at Mike and asks, "So, did I manage to show you how much I love you?" Connie smiles at Mike.

Mike laughs and says, "All I can say is that you just put my fantasizing to shame. That was amazing. I can't wait to see how you plan to dress for Valentine's Day."

"Well, I just hope that I don't disappoint," says Connie.

"My dearest Consuela, I don't think it's possible for you to disappoint me," says Mike.

"I really do love you, Mike." Connie emphasizes the word "love".

"I know you do and I love you, too." Any doubt he had less than twenty four hours ago has vanished for the time being and Mike kisses her on the temple.

"I think I can stay like this forever." Connie snuggles closer to Mike and Mike hugs her closer.

After a little while, Mike shifts a little and says, "Well, unless you don't mind that I stain your sheets, I think I need to go and clean up. Sorry."

Connie nods in understanding. "Are you hungry? I wouldn't mind a snack right now. Why don't I make us some popcorn and we can go cuddle on the couch and see what's on TV, unless you're ready for bed?"

Mike disengages himself and heads towards the bathroom. "I am tired, but not quite ready for bed yet. Popcorn sounds good. I'll be right there."

Connie gets up and heads to the kitchen to microwave some popcorn.

Connie is in her robe lying across the couch with her back against the arms flipping through the channels. The bowl of popcorn is on the coffee table along side a couple of bottles of water. Mike, in boxers and a t-shirt, comes out of the spare room with his Blackberry in hand.

"I tried to figure out how to print out some postings on your printer but I think it's out of ink. So I had the info sent to my Blackberry instead."

"I was wondering why it took you twenty minute to clean up. What did you find?"

Connie settles for Discovery Channel and puts it on mute.

Mike lifts her legs up to sit down and then places them on his lap. He then presses a few buttons on his Blackberry and hands it to her. "What do you think of that one?"

Connie reads through the posting and says, "Looks interesting, and it's close to here. That reminds me in your grand scheme of things where do you envision us living?"

Mike looks at Connie and says, "I had envisioned a house with a yard and for it to be affordable on our salaries, it would have to be in the suburbs. Why do you ask?"

"I just think that I would prefer not to spend most of my day on a commute," says Connie. "Since we know where you're working, we should look for a job that would be closer to where we want to live."

"What if you remain at Hogan Place?" asks Mike.

"It may not be so bad, if we were to commute together." Connie smiles at the thought and hands Mike back his Blackberry.

Mike pushes a few buttons and says, "What about this one?"

"No, I know someone who worked there and there is a lot of turnover due to managerial incompetence." Connie hands back the Blackberry.

Mike pushes a few more buttons and says, "And this?"

"I saw this one last week and they are looking for someone who's tried cases for between five to ten years. I've never been first chair on a case yet," says Connie.

"I thought you did brilliantly that time when legal aid was on strike," says Mike. His voice full of admiration.

"That was once not five to ten years." Connie reminds him.

"What could it hurt to send your resume?" says Mike. "The worst that can happen is that they don't call you for an interview."

"I thought you were the one who didn't want me to consider positions outside of the DA's office?" says Connie.

"And I thought you were the one who wanted me to help you with this?" counters Mike.

"And I do appreciate it." Connie sits up to give Mike a quick kiss and Mike takes his Blackberry in the exchange.

Mike presses a few more buttons and hands Connie the Blackberry. "What about this one?"

"This is new and intriguing. Is this posting still on my computer?" Connie turns on the couch to put her feet down on the floor.

"All of them are." Mike sits up as well.

Connie gets up and heads into the spare room. Mike follows. Once seated on the office chair, Connie moves the mouse to disable the screensaver and a browser with ten tabs greets her. Mike points to the tab of interest and Connie clicks it with the mouse, reads a bit and clicks to open another tab to show information on the firm in question.

"Looks like they have a number of offices all over the five boroughs," says Connie.

"The position they are looking for though is in the Manhattan office," says Mike.

"Do you think I should apply?" asks Connie.

Mike looks at Connie. "Well, it can't hurt to investigate the potential."

"Let's do it." Connie pulls up a template of an introduction letter in her word processor, inputs the necessary details for the position and saves it. Connie then opens her email and pulls out a template email she has for applying to positions. She attaches her resume and the introduction letter and hits send. "I guess we'll see what happens."

"There's a few more here to look at," says Mike. "Just click the other tabs."

Connie clicks the next tab and Mike explains why he likes it and they continue looking at job postings for the rest of the evening.

**A/N2:** So did I do Jack justice? What do you think of a Mike who cooks? Is it as unbelievable as Connie states? As always, I would love to hear from you. :) Constructive criticisms and pointing out of typos welcome.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Jack makes an actual appearance in this chapter though a brief one, not sure if he is as Jack as the phone conversation in the last chapter. Explicit spoilers for 'For The Defense' and 'Dignity'. Thanks to those readers who reviewed the previous chapter. I always love to hear from you even if you're reading this story months after it was published. Constructive criticisms always welcome. Thanks to my beta, Tripp3235.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Offices of the Manhattan District Attorney, 1 Hogan Place, Tuesday, February 9**

Tuesday comes and goes like a typical day at the office after a brief vacation. Even having kept up with the important emails all weekend, Mike and Connie now have to deal with all the other little details that could wait until their return to the office. Connie arrives first as she comes straight from home whereas Mike has to swing by his apartment to drop off his luggage from the weekend and change as he didn't think to pack something for Tuesday morning.

When Mike walks by Connie's desk and says his typical good morning. Connie doesn't even look up from her files before replying with her own morning salutation. Connie calls after him, "How was your weekend?" just a tad louder than necessary. Mike, who normally waits for Connie to come to his desk, walks up to hers to drop off a file before replying in normal tones, "I had one of the best weekends in a long time. You?"

Connie turns to look at Mike and says, "Had a good weekend. The red-eye return flight was cramped but what can you really do about that?"

"Here's the file for the Conway case. You might want to look at the latest motion from his lawyer." Mike walks back to his office whistling a tune.

After Connie reads through all her email, she looks at the Conway file. When she flips through to the motion attached to the file, she files a large post-it with Mike's scrawl on it.

_I know I already told you but I had the best weekend with you. Waking up with you three mornings in a row has spoiled me. Now, I won't sleep as well without you. Want to spend a weeknight at my place this week? I don't think I can make it to the weekend without you. (Flip to the last page of the motion.)_

Connie looks around to make sure no one is looking before flipping to the last page of the motion where there is another post-it note in Mike's scrawl.  
_  
If we're working late on the Woll convictions tonight, let me take you to dinner. I want-_

Just then, Maureen, Jack's administrative assistant, appears out of nowhere with a beautiful bouquet of mixed flowers and says, "Looks like your secret admirer is back." Connie jumps and closes the file quicker than she ought.

"Sorry, Maureen. I didn't hear you. These are lovely." Connie is blushing furiously.

"Sorry, Connie. I didn't mean to startle you. There is a card there." Maureen is apologetic.

"I suspect that I know who they may be from," says Connie. "Thank you, Maureen." Connie smiles at Maureen.

"Oh, the secret admirer isn't so secret anymore." Maureen grins. Connie can almost hear the juicy gossip that Maureen will be sharing with others.

Suddenly a voice she doesn't expect says, "What lovely flowers, Connie." Jack has just arrived at the office.

"Apparently, they are from a not so secret admirer." Maureen pipes up.

"Ah, young love," says Jack. "Maureen, can you bring me the Greenberg file?"

Maureen leaves reluctantly and when she is out of ear shot, Jack says more quietly, "Mike has good taste in flowers. So what's this about wanting to transfer out?"

Connie looks around quickly before replying. "I'm concerned about conflict of interest, Jack." Connie then looks over at where Maureen is returning with the file that Jack asked for. "I'd rather discuss it at length tomorrow at the meeting."

"It can wait," says Jack. "I have to prepare for a meeting with the other DAs in the five boroughs anyway."

Connie turns to Jack with a grateful look and says, "Thanks, Jack."

Jack nods and says loudly, "Maureen, can you bring the Demichev file as well?" and heads to his office.

After Maureen passes her desk with both the Greenberg and Demichev files, Connie takes the card from the holder and sniffs the lilies. _You are spoiling me, Mike Cutter._ Connie takes the small card from the envelope. _Thank you for the fantastic weekend, Love, Mike._

Connie quickly slips the card into her purse to avoid someone accidentally seeing what it said and then goes back to the post-it on the last page of the motion.

_If we're working late on the Woll convictions tonight, let me take you to dinner. I want an opportunity to show you how much I love you outside the office. Remember your promise?  
_  
Just then, Connie's Blackberry beeps. Connie fishes it out of her purse and it's a text from Mike.

"Do you like these better than the roses?" The text asks.

Connie looks towards Mike's office and the door is shut, shades drawn.

Connie texts back. "I thought we agreed to tone it down at the office. I do like them though. Thank you."

Within thirty seconds, her text tone chimes again. "Well, it would be a waste to have them sent to your apartment, since you aren't there enough to enjoy them. I am glad that you like them. So do we have dinner plans for tonight?"

Connie jabs at the small keys on her Blackberry. "Yes, I want to keep my part of the promise. Why don't we make it a late dinner? How about tomorrow night for a stay at your place? I'm having dinner with my sister on Thursday night."

The next text from Mike comes almost instantaneously. "Sure. That works for me. I love you."

"I love you, too." Connie can't help but feel warm and fuzzy inside when she types that into the text window.

Connie then removes both Post-it notes from the file and put them in a personal drawer in her desk before doing some real work.

Around six in the evening on Tuesday, Mike comes by to Connie's desk and says, "Are you ready to tackle the last of the Woll work?"

Connie finishing her thoughts on an email turns to Mike and says, "Are we really almost done?"

"Well, of the stuff we've received to this point, we are," says Mike. "If more comes through, then it continues. Then there's the fallout from the Wallack appeal."

"About that, I heard back from the DA investigators and they will get on it right away," says Connie.

Connie turns on her screen saver and picks her notebook up with a pen and walks with Mike to his office where the Woll work is in boxes.

"I think we were in that top box in that pile on Thursday night." Connie points to the box that's labeled, "56 of 56" for Mike to take down.

Mike brings it down to his conference table, lifts the lid and looks for the mark they left in the files to identify where they got to. "Here we are. Just three files remaining. Can you believe it?"

"Well, it was a good exercise," says Connie. "Maybe we can have our lives back."

"I don't know. I like how it affected our lives. Don't you?" Mike smiles at Connie.

"Yes, but I would rather spend my evenings and weekends with you doing things other than going over appeals on Woll's convictions," says Connie.

"I don't know. We've done other things." Mike looks at Connie intently.

Connie looks back at Mike and says, "This past weekend was the first one in a long time other than during the holidays where the majority of it wasn't spend on those appeals, even then, we discussed the Wallack appeal several times including our flight out. It would be nice to have a weekend where it doesn't revolve around these appeals."

"Well, if we can plow through this, we should have next weekend free," Mike offers.

"Then let's plow through it because I have plans on Saturday and Sunday." Connie just wants to get it done.

"What are we doing on Saturday?" Mike looks at Connie puzzled.

"We aren't doing anything. I'm spending Saturday at the spa to get ready for Sunday." Connie smiles at Mike.

"Oh. Can I get a peek Saturday night?" asks Mike hopefully.

Connie shakes her head. "No. I want to surprise you Sunday when you come to pick me up just before lunch."

"So I don't get to see you from Friday until late Sunday morning. That hardly seems fair." Mike is visibly pouting.

"I didn't say we couldn't spend Friday night and Saturday morning together." Connie looks at Mike in hopes of getting her way. "I just said that I'm spending Saturday at the spa. My appointment isn't until one." Mike looks much relieved. Seeing that Mike isn't making any progress with getting to work. Connie decides to start looking at the first file and says, "If we don't want to spend Friday night and Saturday morning here, let's get through this."

After just a couple of hours on the last three files, they were finally done. Luckily, the three remaining cases were all open and shut ones. The appeals that were files were from left field and had no grounds to stand on. Connie stretches after she finishes reading through the file on her lap. Mike is still looking up a few things on the laptop and making notes, but soon he, too, is done and he put down his pen on the file folder he just closed. Mike stands to stretch and asks, "Ready for dinner?"

"Yes. Let's put these folders back into the box and I'll need to pack up for the evening."

When the folders are back in the box and put back into the pile, Connie starts to leave. Before she gets out of the office, Mike says, "I'll meet you at your desk in a couple of minutes." Connie nods.

Mike shuts down his computer, puts his Blackberry into his suit's inside pocket and reluctantly puts a file from the Edwards case into his briefcase. Since Connie wasn't spending the night, he might as well get some reading in.

Connie, when she gets to her desk, checks her email quickly and there's nothing new that's urgent, so she turns off her computer and puts all her files in the drawer left intentionally empty for this purpose and locks it. After putting her keyring on the key holder in her briefcase, Connie puts on her coat and brings a file from the Stuber case to read on the subway in the morning. Just as she was shutting her briefcase, Mike appears at her elbow. "Any place in particular?"

"Let's go back to Natalie's. It's close and food's good. I'm starving," says Connie.

"Let's go then." Mike gestures for her to lead the way.

As soon as they were out of sight of Hogan Place, Mike takes Connie's hand and holds it until they are at the cafe. Connie thought it was sweet. The cafe was pretty quiet by the time they showed up at almost nine o'clock. They found a booth in a corner away from most patrons. Pretty much as soon as the waitress took their order, Mike takes Connie's hands into his again. Since the past idyllic weekend, Mike has had a need to have skin-to-skin contact with Connie. It seems to have been heighten by their mutual agreement to be more discreet at the office.

"So are you ready for our meeting with Jack tomorrow morning?" Connie had been curious about that all afternoon.

"I think so. I'm sure if we take a mutual front approach, it will be easier. How did you approach him after the abortion case?" asks Mike.

"I asked to meet with him and then told him that I can't in all good conscience work with someone who could leave his soul on the umbrella stand. He dug a little deeper to find out my specific issues and we talked about where else I would like to work. He hinted at the fact that he wanted me to work things out with you, but didn't say outright that that was his intention. It wasn't until he brought you to my desk that I found out we had to work it out. I think that this situation is a little different. There is a specific conflict of interest at hand that must be resolved." Connie blushes at some of the things that she's had said to Jack about Mike.

Mike smiles reassuringly at Connie. "Mutual front is definitely the way to go. I'm just curious here. Do you still have issues with how I handled the abortion case?"

"Well, I still think that I would have shared the same information with the defense as I did. That hasn't changed, but I now accept that you have a different way of handling the situation than I do. You have to understand, Mike. That case caused a shift in paradigm for me. I used to be pro-choice throughout a pregnancy, but now I'm not sure I'm OK with late term abortions. When something like that happens, it's not unusual to do something out of character."

Mike nods in understanding but isn't sure how to contribute constructively to the conversation.

Connie brings the conversation back to the meeting with Jack tomorrow. "Jack spoke to me this morning when he came in. He didn't seem to be against the idea of us, but then there's Jack's history. He didn't seem to understand why we wanted to have a discussion about the whole thing."

"Well, I guess it's something that we need to convey to him then. He knows my view of the situation."

Connie gives him a puzzled look.

"This was all a part of the same conversation I had with Jack during the Woll trial."

"What did you say to him exactly during the conversation?" asks Connie.

Mike can feel a blush creeping into his features. "Well, I was complaining about how Woll just bragged that he had a sexual relationship with you and it evolved into my views about sleeping with coworkers and talking about sex lives with them. Which incidentally, I said I would never do and how sleeping with the boss and teacher demeans people, especially women. Yes, I am aware of the irony of our situation, which is why I thought talking to Jack could resolve our situation faster."

"When did Woll brag about my affair with him?" Connie furrows her eyebrows.

"Right after you offered yourself as a co-conspirator for the charges against him for Henry Lovett," says Mike.

"That son-of-a-bitch. He had no right to tell you about it." Connie is upset by this.

"You know that Woll is behind bars because you offered yourself as an unindicted co-conspirator, and all the work that was generated from his convictions as a DA is what brought us here. I think that it has worked out better for us in the end because, otherwise, I wouldn't have your love and that's what's important to me." Mike strokes the hand he's holding to emphasize his point.

Connie thinks a bit on what Mike has said. "You're right. Still he strikes a nerve."

Their food arrives soon thereafter and conversation in essence ceases until the food is consumed. After they share a coffee post-dinner, Mike offers to walk Connie to the nearest subway station where they will say their good byes. They make an agreement that Mike will arrive earlier in the day while Connie will arrive at her usual time.

As they are walking down the street, Mike says, "Would you mind if we went for a workout at the gym tomorrow evening? I usually try to work out three to four times a week, but with all the overtime we've put in the last few months, it has curtailed significantly. I'd like to go back to a decent routine again."

Connie agrees to Mike's proposal. "Sure. I wouldn't mind getting a work out in as well."

Just then they pass a small park and Mike sees a bench almost hidden among the trees. "This way."

"What's going on?" Connie has no idea where Mike is taking her but willingly goes along.

"This." Mike drops his briefcase on the ground and pulls Connie towards him for a kiss. Connie responds once she realizes what Mike wants. They kiss passionately for a while. When they finally come up for air with their foreheads touching, Mike says in hushed tones since the people on the sidewalk could probably hear them otherwise, "I've been wanting to do that since about noon. I really wish we were together tonight. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm staying over tomorrow night and we both have to prepare ourselves for the meeting with Jack tomorrow morning." Connie reminding herself as well as Mike.

Mike sighs. "I guess my fantasizing will have to do for tonight. I love you so much, Connie."

"I love you, too." This time it's Connie who kisses Mike and they make out until they hear a neighborhood church bell toll eleven times. Connie breaks the kiss and says, "We better be going. There's an eleven-ten subway train at this station and then the schedule goes hourly until tomorrow morning." They untangle themselves from one another.

"Alright. Do you have one of those wipes? I'm sure that I'm wearing your lipstick."

Connie hands Mike a wet wipe and proceeds to run her hands through her hair a few times. When Mike is done with the wipe, Connie takes it and wipes her mouth to remove her lipstick. There's no time to fix it so might as well take it off. While she's doing that, Mike is smoothing down his hair and shifting his coat a bit.

Once they are back on the sidewalk with their respective briefcases, they step up the pace of their walk. Mike walks Connie all the way to her platform, just in time for her to catch the train. They kiss quickly before Connie boards her train. Mike watches until her car moves away from sight before he walks off to his train.

**A/N2:** So two adults making out in a neighborhood park make sense? My reasoning for that is even though they spend a large part of their day at the office with one another, that because of professionalism and their conflict of interest situation that they need to keep it on the down low at the office, but they need some outlet and since they weren't going to spend the night at one another's place due to time constraints that they needed to get it out somehow and it wasn't going to happen at a restaurant. I personally found it kind of romantic and hope that you did, too. As always, would love to hear from you. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Here we finally get to the meeting with Jack. :) The updates for this story will likely go on a weekly-ish schedule for the summer. My mother-in-law comes for her yearly seven week visit over the summer starting next week, so that tends to curtail a lot of the spare time that I have to devote to my writing (editing, proofreading, posting, etc). Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, whose suggestions makes this a better story. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. I love hearing from you. :)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Ground Floor by the Elevators, 1 Hogan Place, Wednesday, February 10**

The next morning they arrive at the office at the same time despite having come from their individual homes. When they happen to be waiting for the same elevator, Mike chuckles. "Good Morning." He then leans in and speaks to Connie in hushed tones. "Seems like when we don't come from the same place, we still get here at the same time. We may need to work harder to avoid this."

Connie says her good morning to Mike before responding in the same hushed tones. "I thought you were going to be in earlier?"

"Didn't sleep well. Slept through my first alarm." Mike is apologetic.

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't sleep well, either," confesses Connie.

It's then that the elevators open and their conversation ends. When they get to Connie's desk and Mike's office, it looks like Jack is already in the office.

"Good morning!" Maureen says as they pass her desk. Her eyes contain a mirth that Mike and Connie find suspicious.

Mike nods and Connie says, "Good morning, Maureen. Is Jack in the office already?"

"Since eight this morning," says Maureen with a smile. "He had an emergency meeting with the Attorney General. You both can go in whenever you're ready for the meeting."

"Thanks."

Connie takes off her coat, puts her purse in the desk and puts her briefcase and overnight bag under her desk. She takes a notebook from her briefcase, a pen from her desk and heads to Mike's office.

When she gets to Mike's office doorway, Connie says, "You ready?"

Mike is just looking at something on his laptop and typing away furiously. "Give me a minute. Apparently, they got a break on the Milner case, we may have a lineup this afternoon."

"If they get one together, did you want me to go to the precinct?"

"Yes, if you can. I have court for the Edwards case." Mike continues to type furiously before clicking send and getting up from his desk. "OK. I'm ready."

"Remember you are to begin the conversation."

"Why do you think I didn't sleep very well last night." Mike and Connie cross the hallway between Mike's and Jack's offices.

"Oh, I thought it was something else." Connie gives Mike a look.

Mike smiles. "Perhaps it was partially that, too."

Jack is on the phone when Connie followed by Mike enter Jack's office. They close the office door behind them.

"Yes, that's good to hear Captain. Thank you." Jack hangs up the phone and looks at Connie and Mike who have just sat down in the chairs in front of Jack's desk. "So what the hell is going on?"

"As you have surmised, Jack, Connie and I have begun a relationship - a serious one, and after some lengthy discussions, we have come to the conclusion that neither of us can condone the conflict of interest that exists while she is my subordinate. Connie has chosen of her own volition to remove herself from the conflict of interest as quickly as possible."

Jack unable to suppress a grin at Mike's formal manner says with a chuckle, "You're not pleading a case in court, Mike." Mike's carefully constructed follow-up is instantly forgotten. He is left with his mouth open which he shuts as soon as he is aware of it.

To keep the meeting on track, Connie speaks up. "Jack, after Marcus Woll, I can't do it again, especially not long term, and if I have to choose between Mike and my career at the DA's office, I will find work elsewhere."

Jack speaks again. "Well, as you both know I made it work for a while with a number of my assistants, but it is an incredibly fine line that's akin to tightrope walking and it can put a lot of strain on the relationship. So why are you here? Obviously, one of you could have just gone out and gotten a new position before telling me." Jack looks at both Mike and Connie intently. Mike and Connie look at one another.

Mike finally speaks up. "We're hoping that you can help us find a solution that removes Connie from the conflict of interest within the DA's office."

Jack looks intently at his two subordinates before saying, "As I told the two of you after that abortion case last fall when Connie asked to be transferred to white-collar crimes, that it's not that easy and I'd have to find someone else to second chair for Mike."

Mike replies for them. "Yes, we know Jack, but we also know that you value Connie as an employee. All your reviews of her performance while she was your subordinate were glowing."

"Well, alternatively, I could just fire you, Mike, for sleeping with your subordinate." Jack's eyes are full of mirth as he says this, but Mike is still thrown slightly off his game.

"Yes, that is an alternative we had considered." Mike swallows visibly.

Connie smiles and says, "But if you did that Jack, you'd not only lose Mike, you'd lose me as well and you'd be looking to fill two positions rather than one."

"Touché, Connie, and I definitely don't want to lose you as an ADA. What are your top three choices?" asks Jack, now serious.

"White collar crimes and vice are my top two," says Connie. Let me think of a third and get back to you."

"How long will you give me?" asks Jack.

Connie considers quickly and says, "Preferably three months, but I'm willing to wait up to six."

Jack thinks quickly and counters. "I think there is a way to have you report directly to me while remaining Mike's second chair. Give me two weeks on that front and we'll back date it. If that works, it should take the conflict of interest issues out of your minds, so that you can do your jobs effectively again."

"OK," says Connie.

"As for performance reviews, we'll figure something out. If you still think that there's a need to transfer out, you'll have to give me a year to eighteen months. I know of some upcoming retirements in various bureaus in that time frame that will likely allow me to do some juggling." Jack looks to see if Connie is agreeable.

After a quick consideration, Connie says, "I think that's fair."

"Finally, keep your relationship out of the office. I don't want to see it, I don't want to hear it and I certainly don't want to hear about anyone else seeing or hearing it. If you have a relationship issue, fix it before you come back in the morning or don't come back at all." Jack points a finger at Mike for emphasis.

Mike is about to say something, but Connie cuts him off. "Thanks, Jack. I have to admit that I didn't think you would have a solution, but it was Mike who thought it would be worth it to give it a try."

"I'm glad someone had confidence in me," says Jack.

Mike finally looks up and says, "Thanks, Jack. What tipped you off? Because when I said that Connie wanted to transfer out, you knew."

Jack looks directly at Mike and says, "The fact that you two were working day and night on the appeals for the Woll convictions for months and I didn't hear one complaint from either of you in that time. I had expected that one of you would have come to me sometime during those months of overtime to discuss issues."

Mike considers this and nods.

"What sealed it for me was when you said that you had to go to your aunt's funeral in Oregon and you needed the Monday off to get back here. When you happened to mention that Connie was taking the same time off. You look like the goose that laid the golden egg. After our conversation during the Woll case, I just put two and two together."

Connie gives Mike a look and Mike smile sheepishly.

Jack notes this exchange and says, "Oh, by the way, Maureen suspects. She mentioned to me that whenever Mike walks past your desk, Connie, that he whistles some sort of happy tune, and we all know Mike isn't known for his happy tunes."

With this revelation, Connie glares at Mike who starts to shrug his shoulders before saying, "What? It's subconscious. I will make sure it won't happen again."

Jack is highly amused at this latest development and leans back in his chair. "Off the record, asking as a friend, how long have you two been an item? Sounds serious."

Connie and Mike look at each other and Mike says, "A month and a bit. We see it as a long term thing."

"Will I be seeing a wedding invitation in the future?"

This time it's Connie who pipes up. "It's a definite possibility."

This elicits a look from Mike to Connie that tells Jack, this, too, is a new development.

"Well, here's an early congratulations from me. I'll have Maureen do the research to find out how we can transfer you under my supervision, Connie. Mike, I'll need you to start drafting some notes for me on Connie's performance in the last few months. I will need them to do a transfer. If I recall correctly, Connie, your evaluation is in September?"

"Yes, it is, Jack." Connie smiles at Jack.

Jack nods. "Good. I hope that we can get this resolved to everyone's satisfaction and we can get back to the work of prosecuting criminals."

"I just have one question before we go. Aren't you worried that this will set a precedent?" asks Connie.

"Let me worry about precedent, Connie."

Connie purses her lips and nods. Mike and Connie get up from their chairs. "Thanks, Jack. We really appreciate you help. Connie and I will be relieved when you've removed the conflict of interest."

Jack nods in dismissal.

* * *

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur for both Mike and Connie. Mike has to prepare for the Edwards trial and then there is court in the afternoon. When they get back to their desks, Mike received a message that the police had apprehended a suspect in the Milner case and they needed someone there to watch the interrogation this morning and handle the line up in the afternoon. So Connie left immediately for the precinct and didn't finish up until after five that afternoon, when the girlfriend couldn't identify the supposed suspect. They were back to square one.

By the time she got back to the office, it was after six and she still had paperwork to handle. Mike wasn't in his office though his jacket and tie were hanging from the back of his chair, which meant Mike was still around. Glancing over to Jack's closed door, Connie could see a light underneath so it was likely they were discussing the Edwards case. It was confirmed later when Mike and his second chair in that case finally left Jack's office just before seven. Mike came by around 7:15 and Connie was still working on the paperwork to transfer the suspect's case to Vice. He sits in the chair beside her desk facing her.

"You almost ready?" Mike speaks in a low tone.

"Give me ten minutes to finish my thoughts and pack up." Connie uses the same tone as Mike.

"Did you want to eat before the workout?" asks Mike.

"No," says Connie. "Let's take our frustrations out on the elliptical first. How did the Edwards case go this afternoon?" The second sentence came out in a more conversational tone.

"Like crap. Our witness wilted on the stand like a delicate flower in the sun. Jack now wants us to plea it out."

"I know how you hate that. Do you have a choice?" asks Connie.

"Not really. The case was weak aside from the witness testimony and the defense raked her through the coals." Mike yawns. "Sorry, I really didn't get much rest last night."

"Why don't you go pack up and let me finish my thought on this line item," suggests Connie.

"How did the line up go?" asks Mike.

"Wrong guy. I'm just doing the paper work to transfer the suspect's case to Vice."

Mike yawns again, looks sheepishly at Connie and says, "I better get packed up then." Mike then gets up and stretches as he walks to his office.

"Good night, Connie. Don't work too late." Connie is startled by Jack's voice. She was concentrating so hard on that line item she was working on when Mike disturbed her that she didn't hear him walk past.

"Yes, Jack. Good night." As Jack is walking away in the near deserted office, Connie calls out. "And thank you."

"Think nothing of it." Jack calls back.

A few of minutes later, Mike is standing by her desk in his outer coat with briefcase in hand. Connie is putting her coat on and Mike sees some paperwork in her briefcase. "Are you bringing work home, tonight?"

"It's for my ride in the morning." Connie looks around the deserted office and says in hushed tones, "Since we agreed to go in at different times when we spend the night together, I try to keep my mind occupied or else what we did the night before just flashes through my mind." Connie smiles at Mike, whose eyes widen at first as he processes what Connie just said and turns beet red as he smiles back. God, he wanted to kiss her right there and then.

Mike and Connie walk side-by-side in silence to the elevator, occasionally touching shoulders. Mike knows he has to restrain himself or else they would be making out in the elevator. Meanwhile, Connie is trying really hard not to think how it would feel to have Mike's hands all over her body. They make it down the elevator and outside Hogan Place. Originally, they planned to walk to the subway and then walk to the gym. As they walk down the plaza to the road, Mike says, "I need to get my gym stuff from my apartment. Cab?"

Connie nods, in fear that she'd just jump him right there. Mike hails a cab when they get to the road and they manage to act civilized in the cab until they are out of sight of Hogan Place, then all bets are off.

It's like they are magnets and they can't resist the pull of one another. They barely notice when they get to Mike's apartment. They straighten their clothes as best as they can and run their fingers through their own hair before stepping out of the cab. Connie pulls some money out for the cabbie.

As soon as the cabbie takes the money, Mike grabs Connie's hand and pulls her into the lobby. He nods to the doorman's greeting on the way by. Connie manages to flash the doorman a smile before being pulled towards the bank of elevators. Being earlier in the evening, there's an older gentleman and his wife with their dog after a walk. The older couple smiles at Mike and he nods in acknowledgment while silently cursing their dog because he knows that they live on the floor just below his, so there will be no opportunity to resume their activities from the cab until after they get into the apartment. Connie smiles sheepishly wondering whether the couple can guess their intent from their appearance.

The ascending elevator is pure torture as another couple, who apparently are neighbors to the couple with the dog, get in a few floors up and they strike up a conversation on their latest activities this evening, which consisted of dog walking and neighbor visiting. Mike merely squeezes Connie's hands in regular intervals to keep their flame alive. After all, Connie didn't just overpay a cabbie to go home to get his gym stuff. Finally, the two couples leave and Mike and Connie manage a couple of quick kisses before they arrive on Mike's floor. When the bell rings and doors open, one of Mike's neighbors is waiting for the elevator.

"Evening, Mike." Mike and Connie step out of the elevator and Mike's neighbor steps in.

Mike manages a "Hi, Leslie," before the doors close on the elevator.

Mike pulls Connie along as she was preoccupied with staring at the elevator and Mike has some difficulty unlocking his door with Connie behind him. It takes three tries.

Once they are inside, Mike drops his briefcase and doesn't bother taking his winter coat off before pulling Connie in for a kiss. Connie drops her briefcase, bag and purse at the front door during the kiss. Soon, they are wrestling with the coats as they can't get out of them fast enough. They kick off their shoes soon after leaving the coats and in Mike's case, his suit jacket is on the floor as well.

The rest of the clothes come off so quickly that they are surprised afterward that all buttons remained intact. Not surprisingly, they ended up in a trail leading to Mike's bedroom. Mike is in such desperate urgency that he almost forgets the condom. It takes Connie to remind him twice before what she says penetrates the fog of desire. They consummate their desire quickly but passionately. In their urgency, it seemed like it was over before they knew it.

In the afterglow, when Mike is holding Connie and their breathing has returned to normal. Mike says, "I think we worked out our frustrations, don't you?"

"Yes." Connie agrees with a smile on her face.

"I don't think we need to go to the gym tonight, do you?" asks Mike.

"Not really."

"I love you so much." Mike kisses Connie on the temple. "But please don't tell me stuff like that in the office again unless you want me to take you right there and then. I could barely see straight after you said that visions of what we did the night before flashes through your mind on the way to work."

Connie turns her head to look up at Mike and they kiss passionately. When they break the kiss, Connie says, "I love you, too. What I said caught me by surprise, too. After saying what I did and seeing your reaction, all I could think of was your hands on every part of my body and I just wanted you."

Mike takes Connie's hand in his and he's tracing her hand absentmindedly when he says, "Is it too early in the relationship to ask you to move in with me?"

Connie takes her hand back to focus Mike and says, "We should at least wait until after I no longer report to you. What's the rush?"

"Remember I said that I didn't sleep well last night?" asks Mike. Connie nods and Mike continues. "That was a bit of an exaggeration. I wasn't able to fall asleep until four in the morning. After spending three and a half days with you, falling asleep with you, waking with you, I just want it to never end. I felt so lonely when I was in this apartment by myself last night. I've never felt that before. As you know, I don't feel very comfortable socializing for the sake of socializing, so I tend to do more solitary things and it's not like I've not had serious relationships before, but for some reason, and this is going to sound really corny and possibly crazy, I yearn for you when I'm not at the office and you're not with me."

Connie looks at Mike and smiles. Connie loves this vulnerable side of Mike that she saw last on the beach in Oregon. "That is so sweet. I really missed you, too, last night though I did finally manage to fall asleep by two." Mike shifts slightly uncomfortably. "What's wrong?" Connie asks.

"Sorry, I need to go clean up before this turns into a big mess and we'll have to change the sheets before we go to sleep. Why don't you order some take out? The menus are in the drawer by the sink. Go with whatever you feel like and order lots. I didn't eat lunch and I'm starving." Mike then gets up and goes into the bathroom to clean up.

**A/N2:** Did Jack's solution seem reasonable? I am quite surprised how much I enjoy writing Jack and how naturally he comes out. As always, feel free to point out typos and errors, so that I can fix them. Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Sincere apologies for this late entry and it's a short one at that. Real life has been pretty busy the last week and I was occupied with posting chapter 2 of my post-Courtship fic, _Happily Ever After_, in time for Father's Day. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. :) Thanks also to my beta, Tripp3235, who also puts up with questions like, "I happened to be watching 'For The Defense', why does Mike have a box labeled shirts on top of his coat rack in his office?" Spoilers for 'Brilliant Disguise' and 'Innocence'.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Michael Cutter, 6325 Cornelius Drive, Wednesday, February 10**

When Mike comes back out to the kitchen after cleaning up, the trail of clothes had been picked up and either hung or tossed in the hamper. Connie was leaning against the counter with a menu beside her. She had wiped off her make up, her hair was tied up away from her face and she has one of Mike's t-shirts on. If it wasn't for the fact that they just had sex less than fifteen minutes ago, he'd have taken her there and then. _When did I become a teenaged-boy again? The last time I was so constantly thinking of sex was when I was sixteen._

Connie looks up to see Mike and says, "I ordered some Greek. I hope you like their souvlaki. It should be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Thanks for tidying up." Mike gestures at his now tidy apartment.

"Not a problem." Connie smiles at Mike. "I didn't want our coats and your suit jacket to get wrinkled. I hope you don't mind that I put our dirty clothes in your hamper. I'll run a load the next time I'm here. I don't like dragging dirty clothing around the city."

Mike grabs an apple from the kitchen counter. Before he takes a bite, he says, "Why don't you leave some stuff here? That way you don't have to bring something every time you're over."

"Thanks. I just don't like to drag a bag every time I'm staying over. Makes it that much more obvious at the office."

Mike puts down the apple on the counter, walks over to Connie pulls her into a hug and says, "I'll make some room in my closet for you. How much room do you need?"

Connie smiles at him and says, "Just a couple of hangers worth and a small section of a drawer to put my unmentionables in."

"Co-mingling our unmentionables. That's exciting." Mike leans in to give Connie a kiss on the cheek, but Connie turns around in his arms and kisses him on the mouth instead. They kiss chastely for a while and are eventually broken up by the ringing of the phone from downstairs. Their dinner has arrived.

While they consume their food, they discuss the unsuccessful lineup for the Milner case as well as the upcoming Conway case. The juror selection had been a weeks ago and they are both still wondering why Conway accepted juror number seven. This was the juror who had just separated from his wife and said that he couldn't focus and yet Conway decided to accept him.

After clearing the dinner stuff away, they settle on the couch in the living room. Connie says, "I got an email back this afternoon from that position I applied for on Monday night. They want to meet for lunch sometime next couple of weeks."

"Already?" Mike is surprised by that firm's interest.

"They want to discuss the generalities of the position and see if we have mutual interest," explains Connie.

"Sounds typical. Are you going to go?"

"I might as well. If Jack can't sort out that reporting to him thing, we're stuck in this position for another year to eighteen months. I'm not going to wait that long to get out of the conflict of interest."

"True," says Mike, but all he could really think was how he was going to miss her at the office if she took that job. _I just can't win. Either I get to see her at the office or after work. Why can't I have both? _

"Is something wrong?" asks Connie. "You seem less enthusiastic about this than I would have thought about this interview."

"It's nothing," says Mike, unwilling to admit to Connie that he is being childish about this. "I'm glad that the firm is expressing interest."

"I'm going to need your help," says Connie. "The last time I interviewed for a job was five years ago. I need to practice so that I'm not nervous."

"You'll do fine," says Mike. "If you need help though, you can count on me."

Connie looks at the circles under Mike's eyes and says, "I think I'm going to head off to bed. I didn't sleep well last night and I have to go cross town tomorrow morning for my appointment. I don't want to be late or else I'll have to wait that much longer. Coming?" Connie gets up from the couch.

"In a minute." Mike seems distracted, so Connie heads into Mike's bedroom and goes in the ensuite to go about her night time routine. When she comes back out, Mike is sitting up in bed reading.

When she sits down on her side of the bed, Mike hands her a set of keys. "Since you'll be leaving stuff here, I thought I'd give you keys to the apartment. That way, you'll have access anytime to your stuff."

"OK. Thanks," says Connie somewhat surprised. _Does this mean I have to give him keys to my apartment?_

"In case you're wondering, no, you don't have to give me keys to yours," adds Mike. "It's a big step and I want you to make that decision on your own. I'm ready but you may not be."

"Oh, OK," Connie manages to say. _When the heck did he become a mind reader? At least there's no pressure. Why is it that I'm always feeling one step behind in this relationship?_ Connie then puts down the keys on the night table on her side of the bed, lies down and curls up in a sleeping position. She is exhausted. As she closes her eyes, Connie realizes that this is the first time aside from traveling that they haven't had sex right before going to sleep. _I guess this is a new step in our relationship._ Before Connie falls asleep, she hears Mike put down the book he was reading and turn off the light and soon Mike is curling up around her.

"Good night, my sweet Consuela." Mike whispers it into Connie's hair thinking that she's already asleep.

Connie turns over to face Mike and says sleepily, "Goodnight, Mike."

* * *

When Connie's alarm goes off at 6:00 on Thursday morning, it's much too early, but Connie has to get up and get ready to go across town, so she give Mike's sleeping form a quick kiss before heading to the shower. Mike for his part mumbles something, rolls over and falls back asleep until his alarm goes off a half hour later.

Towards the end of the shower, as Connie is waking up, she considers how quickly things have changed between her and Mike after spending a long weekend with him. _A week and a half ago things were really spontaneous. Now nearly everything is planned in advance. I miss some of that spontaneity. I guess it's a sign that we're an item rather than just hooking up. I can't believe that Mike wants us to move in together. Is he nuts? No, it's just typical Mike, not quite knowing when to quit. But you like that persistence when it's not directed at you. Correction, you like that persistence when it's not directed at something you don't want to do._ Connie smiles in remembrance of Mike's persistence in his pursuit of her since right after Woll's conviction and her giving into the chase right after Christmas. With that, Connie turns off the shower and starts to get ready for the day.

At 6:30, Mike's radio alarm goes off for about five minutes and Mike listens to the news as he slowly wakes after a good night's sleep. The first thing he does after turning it off is reach over to Connie's side of the bed only to find her missing. It's then that he hears the blow dryer in the ensuite and remembers that Connie has a doctor's appointment across town and has to leave early. _I can't believe how well I sleep when Connie is here. I did nothing but toss and turn for hours the night before and last night I was asleep within five minutes. What am I going to do tonight? I think she mentioned earlier that she has a dinner with her sister this evening. I didn't have any trouble falling asleep last week before we went to Oregon. What changed? Remember what Connie did on Monday night after you got back from Oregon? Oh right!_ Mike smiles at the memory of Connie dressing up provocatively for him and the amazing sex that ensued. A certain part of Mike's anatomy warms at the mere thought. _Relax! Connie is not going to appreciate it if you decide to barge in the bathroom and fantasizing about her in the shower is just not the same any more._

Just then, Mike hears the hair dry turn off. Knowing that Connie is almost ready to come out, Mike gets out of bed and starts to make it. Connie exits the bathroom and goes to get her clothes for the day. When Mike completes his task, he gives Connie a quick kiss before heading into the shower. Connie dresses quickly and is out the door before Mike exits the shower, careful to lock the door behind her with the keys he gave her last night. Mike is highly disappointed that she is gone when he gets out of the shower even though he knew intellectually that she had to leave early this morning. He eventually convinces himself not to be that childish and gets on with his day.

* * *

The rest of Thursday is a blur for both Mike and Connie. Connie arrives early to her nine o'clock doctor's appointment, but she isn't seen by the doctor until 9:45 and is out by 9:50 armed with a shot for the human papillomavirus and a prescription for the ring. Connie ends up having to call Mike to let him know she is going to be late for their meeting at ten. When she finally gets into the office, the meeting with Mike to go over the Conway case is rushed. When it ends at eleven, Connie has another meeting with the paralegal to deal with some of the forms for the Stuebber case that is starting up in just over a week and it lasts until one in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Mike leaves at 11:30 to get his blood drawn over the lunch hour. His doctor had emailed the required forms and Mike brought the printouts with him. When Mike gets back to the office at nearly one in the afternoon, he sees Connie come out of the meeting with the paralegal.

Mike stops her and asks, "Have you had lunch yet?" Connie shakes her head. "Did you want to grab a quick lunch? I don't have anything until two."

"I have to meet with Robbie Vickery and his lawyer at two at Chelsea University. Vickery didn't want to be away from his experiments for too long." Connie rolls her eyes at this. "We're going over his testimony for next week since he's one of the first on the stand in the Conway case."

"Well, grab your coat and briefcase and we'll make it quick." Mike suggests.

They grab some food from a food cart in front of Hogan Place and managed to find a bench to sit at since the lunch crowd is waning.

Mike finishes his lunch first and waits for Connie to swallow her mouthful before asking, "So, how did it go?" They are in full view of Hogan Place so the unspoken no-contact rule is on.

"They took vials of blood, did an internal, gave me an HPV shot and a prescription for the ring," says Connie.

"The ring?" asks Mike.

Connie pulls out the pamphlet she got from the doctor which is nothing but tiny print and hands it to Mike.

As Mike is reading the pamphlet, Connie asks, "So how did your blood draw go?"

"They took six vials of blood. Results in a week when I go for the rest of my physical." Referring to the literature in his hands, "This is an interesting new concept. Let me know if you need help with testing it out." Mike smiles at Connie, who blushes.

After she manages to swallow her last mouthful of food, Connie says, "I'll be sure to ask, if help is required. What are the plans for tomorrow night? I'm going to dinner in Brooklyn with my sister right after my meeting with Vickery and his lawyer, so I'm not likely to see you until tomorrow."

"If you don't mind staying over again? I know you have an appointment at one on Saturday, so I don't want to interfere with that."

"That works for me. My appointment is actually closer to your apartment then mine, so that will cut down on my travel time. I'll just bring over clothes for tomorrow since my overnight bag is actually at your place." Connie's Blackberry beeps. She takes it out and looks at it, then says, "I've got to get going. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Here you go." Mike hands Connie the pamphlet in his hands. "See you tomorrow." Mike tries to smile but can't really muster the energy. It's as if his sunshine has just gone away.

Before Connie walks out of Mike's earshot, she says, "I'll call you tonight after my dinner and we can talk."

Mike smiles back. Now he has something to look forward to.

**A/N2:** I'd like to think that Mike's moods depends on how Connie is treating him. He dearly loves her and I would like to think that he is happier when she shows her love and less so when he's missing her. What do you think? As always, would love to hear from you! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Sorry for another late entry. At least it's a decent length. :) Summer tends to get busy and today is Canada Day. Happy Canada Day to my Canadian readers! Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter. You make my day! :) Thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, who's input makes this story that much better.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Russets Classic Grill, Brooklyn, NY, Thursday, February 11**

Connie's afternoon flies by after her lunch on a bench outside of Hogan Place with Mike. Her two o'clock is at Chelsea University with Robbie Vickery, a co-worker of Conway's, and his lawyer. Vickery is the first witness for the prosecution on Monday in the Conway trial. When they meet, he is still spouting that he's better than Conway and it takes a lot of convincing on Connie's and his lawyer's part for him to focus at the task at hand. It also doesn't help that Robbie likes talking to Connie's chest rather than looking her in the eye. When she's finally done, it is 4:30 and she has to meet her sister in Brooklyn at six. With traffic, she'll be lucky if she gets there on time.

When she arrives at the restaurant her sister has chosen at 6:10, Rosa is already there. They greet one another and the waiter comes by shortly after to take Connie's drink order. When he leaves, Rosa cannot contain her curiosity any longer. "So, tell me about your new guy. I was floored when I heard your message saying you were bringing him to Luis's party. You didn't mention him at Christmas." Rosa is matronly, but there is no doubt that she and Connie are sisters.

Connie blushes. "We weren't an item then."

Rosa can't believe what she's hearing. "What? And you want to bring him to Luis's party already? Did you know him before?"

"Yeah, kind of," admits Connie.

"What do you mean kind of?" asks Rosa.

"Don't tell anyone, but he's my boss." Connie confesses.

"Connie! Again? Wasn't Marcus Woll trouble enough?" Rosa is surprised by her sister's recklessness.

"Rosa, Mike is nothing like Marcus. I met his family in Oregon last weekend and he wants to meet mine." Connie feels she always has to defend her boyfriends to her eldest sister.

"You went to Oregon with him last weekend already? You are loco, Consuela." Rosa shakes her head.

"Well, it worked out and his extended family seems to like me. Not everyone gets to marry their high school sweetheart, you know." Connie is starting to feel annoyed by Rosa.

"Who in his family did you meet?" Rosa now wants all the details.

"His mother and her side of the family. It was a funeral for his aunt."

"Going to a funeral to meet family does not bode well." Rosa makes the sign of the cross.

"Apparently, Mike doesn't see them except at major family events, so this was an opportunity that doesn't come often." Connie sighs.

"So tell me, when did this start?" asks Rosa

"Just after Christmas," says Connie. "You know I've been doing a lot of overtime. We'd been working on appeals of Marcus's convictions, when it happened. We'd been growing closer together since Marcus's trial in the fall." Connie had told Rosa about the whole Marcus Woll trial and conviction at their last dinner.

"How did an office fling become so serious, so quickly?" asks Rosa.

"I'm not sure exactly," confesses Connie. "This is the thing. I've known that he's been attracted to me pretty much since we started working together a couple of years ago. I'd always admired his determination in getting a conviction and to do the right thing even when it costs him personally, and then there is his boyish charm." Connie can't help but smile at this.

When Rosa gives her a look, she then continues, "His concern for me when earlier in the year Marcus had tried to kill one of our witnesses in his defendant's trial while I was checking up on her had been touching. However, things didn't really heat up until we had Marcus's trial last fall and I had to testify. By then, it was pretty clear that he's been harboring feelings for me. Then Jack had us work on the appeals from all of Marcus's convictions and being with Mike day and night just sort of made things boil over."

"Isn't he the same boss that ticked you off so much that you stayed with Christina for the weekend a couple of years back?" Rosa is referring to their middle sister who recently moved to Miami to start her life anew after leaving her abusive spouse.

Connie sighs. "Yes. He gets on my nerves every so often, but then he's contrite. I actually asked for a transfer last fall after an abortion case we had, but Jack made us work it out and so we did."

"Then why are you involved with him?" Rosa does not understand Connie sometimes.

"Because when he's not getting on my nerves, he's actually quite the guy," says Connie unable to exactly articulate her thoughts.

"Care to elaborate?" Rosa is having trouble comprehending how her sister's relationship works.

Connie thinks for a bit and says, "He usually gets on my nerves when it comes to work, though he respects my opinion more than any boss I've had at the DA's office. When it's just us, he's extremely romantic, sweet and kind. Would you believe I get love notes every day at the office? He sneaks it in the files we work with in post-its. He's absolutely adorable when he's trying to think without his Blackberry. Of course, it helps that he thinks I walk on water and can do no wrong. "

"Hmmm." Rosa give Connie an affirmative sounds.

When Rosa says no more, Connie continues, "He spoils me with little gifts every day, like coffee when he's gone to get one. When we're alone, he never lets me forget that he loves me. The other day when we just weren't able to spend the night with one another, he pulled me into a neighborhood park on our way to the subway just to kiss and to tell me he loves me and misses me. In the time we've been together, I've come to love him dearly." Connie has a starry-eyed look to her as she talks about Mike.

"Maybe you should stop working for him then." Rosa says this as if it is the most obvious solution.

"It's actually something we're investigating. Neither of us are happy with the situation of me being his subordinate. We think we have a temporary fix, but I'm still looking for work elsewhere."

"Why isn't he looking for work elsewhere? Why do you have to look for a new job?" Rosa is wondering whether Connie's boss is forcing her to get a new job.

"I know what you're thinking, that's he's pushing me to change jobs instead of him but we discussed that in depth and he was willing to change jobs. However, knowing him as well as I do, I was able to convince him that he's in the perfect job for him." Connie explains.

Rosa is suitably impressed. "All this change after six weeks. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Connie says slowly almost as if she was convincing herself. "I know it's a lot of change in such a short time and it's a bit of a whirlwind for me, too, but we love one another and we're both committed to the long term."

Rosa picks up on the uncertainty in Connie's voice. "Committed to the long term? Has he proposed?"

"Just about." Connie smiles at the thought.

"And, what exactly do you know about him?" Rosa is suspicious. Connie has been hurt before and Rosa is trying very hard to make sure she's not hurt again.

"I know that his heart is in the right place. I know that he values my opinions. I know that I love him. I know that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. Is there really anything else I need to know?" Connie is an idealist when it comes to love and doesn't see what else her sister could be referring to.

"Yes! Social compatibility, economic compatibility, cultural compatibility, sexual compatibility. Love doesn't solve everything. Look at Christina? She had to uproot herself to get away from her abusive husband."

Connie is starting to get slightly irritated. "I'm not in my late teens or early twenties anymore, Rosa. I think I can spot someone who is likely to hurt me, physically or otherwise. Besides, we've worked together for over two years. It's not like we just met a couple of months ago. As for social compatibility, we work well together and I can take him anywhere. I wouldn't be embarrassed by his actions or his words. Economically, I have to say that I have no idea. He's been generous, but I have no idea how he views money and spending. Culturally, he's American. He's not close to his family, so it's not like we're going to fight about who's home we're going to for Christmas." Connie is referring to Rosa's constant struggle to balance holidays between her and her husband's family.

"So he's a gringo." Rosa observes. "Papi will have something to say about that."

"Does it really matter anymore? We're in the twenty-first century now. Surely, this isn't going to be a problem for Mami and Papi."

"You know that he blames gringos for not being able to practice medicine." Rosa reminds Connie. "Mami on the other hand will be thrilled that you're in a serious relationship. She was just lamenting at Christmas how you were the only one who hadn't found a spouse yet. And you haven't answered my question about sexual compatibility." Rosa knows exactly what to zero in on when it comes to Connie.

Connie can't quite look her sister in the eye when she says in hush tones, "Well, when it comes to that, we can't keep our hands off of one another which just heightens everything when we have to keep it tightly under wraps at the office. Like last night, we were suppose to go to the gym after work and after I made an offhanded comment about why I was bringing work home, we never quite made it there." Connie smiles at what had conspired about 24 hour ago.

"So the sex is good?" asks Rosa in the same hushed tones now somewhat curious.

Connie blushes and replies, "It's not just good. It's amazing. It's actually how the relationship started."

Rosa raises her eyebrows with interest but says nothing.

So Connie continues, "When I went back to work right after Christmas, the tension was palpable whenever we were in a room together and we were in rooms together often. With the lull between Christmas and New Year, we were just doing a lot of paperwork to catch up. The second day we were back, we had to go to the Archives after lunch to verify something. Let's just say that we spent a few hours at the Archives and didn't really verify much with respect to the case. We called it a day earlier than usual and ended up at his apartment under a very flimsy pretense. That night we had sex for the first time and it was incredible, easily the best sex I've ever had, and it's only gotten better. It was also the first time he told me he loved me." Connie smiles in remembrance.

"I guess after he got what he wanted, he had to tell you something." Rosa is ever cynical.

"Honestly, Rosa," Connie is slightly irritated by her sister's skepticism. "It wasn't like that. He was just being his sweet self."

"If you says so," says Rosa.

Just then, their food arrives and Rosa takes a different tact with Connie. "So what is he like? Where is his family from? You've only talked vaguely about what he was like when he was just your boss."

"He's very romantic," says Connie with a smile. "Since we've been an item, there have been flowers, dinners, stay overs. He's considerate. He respects my views on our situation. He keeps reiterating that he sees us as a long term thing. He's also very attentive. He wants me to call him tonight after our dinner so we can talk. We only managed to spend a short lunch together today and he misses me."

Connie pauses to take a sip from her drink before continuing. "What else can I tell you? His parents are divorced and his mother's family is in Oregon where he spent most of his childhood summers. His mother lives in Connecticut with her current husband. She's actually June Cutter, the fashion designer."

Rosa shrugs, but says nothing, so Connie continues. "He hasn't seen his father in over twenty years, but doesn't seem to miss him. He knows next to nothing about his father's family. He's only met his grandparents twice. He was born in Iowa because that's where his father's job was when he was expected. He loves baseball and plays in the office league in the summer."

"Is he one of us or one of them?" asks Rosa referring to whether Mike was a Mets fan or a Yankees fan.

"One of them," says Connie as she winces knowing this information will not bode well for Mike as her family are loyal Mets fans from birth, but figures it would be better if they know ahead of time than having it come out in casual conversation.

"Hmmm. Figures," mutters Rosa as this is not the first time that Connie has fallen for 'one of them'. When Connie merely smiles wanly, Rosa continues, "Look, Mami and Papi are very curious about him. What can I tell them?" asks Rosa.

Connie thinks about it a bit before saying, "Whatever you do, don't tell them that he's my boss. You know that Papi will just get upset. I would also appreciate it if you didn't explicitly bring up that we're sleeping together. Mami will just lecture me about it. Other than those two item, tell them anything I've told you. Who's coming anyway?"

Rosa starts counting on her fingers. "Mami and Papi, of course, Nestor's parents, his brother, Pablo, and his family, his sister Reyna and her kids. His kid sister, Malia can't make it. Carl and Laura are in Orlando, so it's just Al and Nina and their kids and you guys."

"That's what? Fifteen kids alone? When did you want us there?" asks Connie.

"Luis has his kids party from eleven to two, so family should arrive around three and dinner is at five. Mami's cooking, by the way." Rosa smiles at the thought.

"How's Nestor's mother taking that?" asks Connie since Rosa's mother-in-law is infamous for being indignant and offended when she isn't asked to cook for any family occasion.

"She's in charge of the dessert. Had to have Nestor plead with her and promise her that she would be cooking for Cita's birthday in May." Rosa rolls her eyes at the whole ordeal. "How is your guy with kids?"

"He doesn't go out of his way to engage them, but he's not dismissive, if that's what you're wondering," says Connie. "I'm more concerned that he will be overwhelmed. There's Luis's party next weekend, then it's Isabella's birthday two weeks after that, then it's Mami and Papi's anniversary at the end of March, followed by Easter. Before last weekend, it's been ten years since he was at a family function of any kind."

Rosa can't fathom not seeing family for ten years. "What does he do at Christmas?"

"Apparently, he spends it in his apartment alone." Connie sounds somewhat incredulous, too.

"That's loco. Who goes ten years between seeing any family? Especially at Christmas?" asks Rosa.

"I know, but his parents divorced when he was ten and his mother is estranged from her own family and can't be bothered with him." Connie can understand where her sister is coming from. "His father is constantly on the move, never lives anywhere for more than fourteen months. He never knew his father's side of the family. Being an only child, he really has no family. Apparently, that's how it is for him."

Rosa nods. "I can see why you're worried about him being overwhelmed. Once every ten years to sometimes once a week can be stressful. Do you guys have plans for Valentine's Day?"

"Yes and it's a surprise. He's supposed to pick me up at eleven in the morning and I'm to have four outfits with me. He sent it in a meeting request." Connie rolls her eyes.

"He sent you information about your Valentine's date in a meeting request?" Rosa laughs.

"I almost missed it, too, because I've rules set up to accept meetings from him unless they conflict with a court date." Connie giggles. "He keeps everything in his calendar and told me that if I don't want him to miss something to create a meeting request for it."

"Are you going to do it?" Rosa is curious.

"Only if he starts to forgot. Enough about me. How are things between you and Nestor these days?" Connie wants to know about her sister's situation. "I know it was rough when you lost the baby last fall. Does Nestor still blame himself?" Rosa had miscarried early in her second trimester. Her water had broken during sex and the baby was too young to survive.

Rosa looks hopeful. "Not so much since he started seeing a counselor after the New Year, but we still haven't been intimate. As far as he goes these days is a quick goodnight kiss."

"I'm so sorry. I'm surprised that you were able to get him to go to one." Connie knows that Nestor is old-fashioned and doesn't believe in having to talk about his feelings.

Rosa confesses. "Well, his anger was coming out at work and he got a complaint from HR so his father and Pablo talked him into it for the sake for the sake of the company and it's been surprisingly helpful. He hasn't gone off on me or the kids since and he's much less irritated."

"That's good." Connie is happy to hear of this. "I was really shocked to hear him blow up at Cruz at Christmas for being a seven year old."

"Things came to a head in December," says Rosa. "He blew up at a number of employees the first couple of weeks and HR spoke to him and his father about it. When there was another incident the week before Christmas, his father and Pablo intervened and set him up with an employee assistance program counselor for the first week of the new year. We almost didn't make it through Christmas."

"Have the kids noticed a difference?" asks Connie.

"Absolutely," says Rosa. "He's been more patient and less irritable than before. I'm so glad that Papa and Pablo were able to get him to see it their way."

The rest of the conversation at dinner was about the rest of the family and Connie was able to part ways with her sister soon after 8:30.

It is around ten when Connie finally walks into the door of her apartment. She is tired but she managed to fill her prescription from this morning and picked up Mike's Valentine's Day gift from the postal outlet that she had bought on the internet a few weeks ago. It was nice to see her sister in better spirits and being able to talk one-on-one was wonderful.

She wants to get her stuff packed up for the stay over tomorrow night at Mike's before she takes a bath. That's when she remembers that she needs to call Mike. _Maybe during the bath._

So Connie starts the water running and puts some bubble bath in, before packing what she needs for Friday night and Saturday morning, plus a few extra things to leave at Mike's. She considers adding a set of keys to the apartment for Mike to the pile of stuff, but holds off. _I'm not quite ready yet._

Once the bath is drawn, Connie throws a load of darks into the washer. Since she had taken the hot water for the bath, there was no point in washing whites in cold water. The time it takes to wash the darks should be plenty of time for the hot water tank to reheat.

Just before Connie lowers herself into the warm, scented soap foam covered water, she dials out on her Blackberry on speakerphone to Mike.

"Hello?" says Mike from the other end of the phoneline.

"Mike, it's me. I just got home," says Connie as she's relaxing in the warm water.

"Connie, Are you on speakerphone?" asks Mike. "There's a weird echo."

"Yes, I am. It's late and I wanted to get a few things done tonight at the same time. After all, I've been spending most of my spare time this week with my boyfriend." Connie has a smile of satisfaction on her face.

"What else are you doing? asks Mike casually.

"Currently, aside from talking to you, I'm doing a load of laundry and taking a bath. What are you up to?" asks Connie as she's running water over her body.

"I just got back from the gym and I'm clearing space in my closet as well as in one of my dresser drawers," says Mike proudly as he's lying on his bed and juggling a couple of pieces of crumpled up paper in his free hand. "I'm also cleaning the apartment so it's spotless when you come over tomorrow. Are you already in the tub?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" wonders Connie.

"I'm just imagining what you're doing in there. I miss you. How was dinner with your sister?"

"Very nice actually," admits Connie. "Rosa, Christina and I used to go out to dinner once every couple of months until Christina moved to Miami a year and a half ago. Now it's just Rosa and me. Rosa is the mother of the nephew with the birthday next weekend."

"I really miss you tonight. I wish that we had something more than a quick lunch today. Have you given more thought to moving in together?" asks Mike.

"I thought we agreed that we were going to wait until after I wasn't reporting to you anymore?" Connie sounds a little annoyed. _Will he not give up until I do move in with him? Can't he tell I'm not ready for that step just yet?_

Missing Connie's annoyance, Mike continues, "Jack should have that resolved in a couple of weeks."

"Or he might not. He thinks it might be possible but he was having Maureen look into it." Connie is no longer keeping her annoyance in check.

Mike finally picks up on it and says, "Look, it's just that I really miss you. The last time I held you was as I was falling asleep last night and if we were living together, you'd be with me now."

Connie is a tad contrite when Mike puts it that way, but she still needs to make her point, so she takes a big breath and says, "I miss you, too, and I'm bringing stuff over tomorrow night to leave at your place. Please understand that is a big step for me." When Mike doesn't say anything, Connie continues, "It's not that I don't love you and I don't want to spend time with you, but I need time to manage my life. It's not like I have a fairy godmother who waves her wand and all my bills are paid and my housework is done."

After a short pause, Mike finally says, "I don't want to smother you, but I thought we had an agreement that if I was to tone things down at the office that we would have some time together each day where we would be free to show our feelings, to hold one another or at least some physical contact. Now I know that you spent the night here last night but because of your appointment this morning, you were gone before I was out of the shower and I didn't even get to kiss you good-bye."

Connie thinks back to this morning and says, "But I did kiss you good-bye when I was done with my shower and you went in for yours? I know I didn't dream that."

"Yes, you did kiss me then," admits Mike. "However, I didn't expect that quick kiss to be to sum total of our physical contact for the next thirty-six hours. If I'd known that, I would have given you more of a kiss than that."

Connie is exasperated by this. "So what exactly do you propose? We live thirty-five minutes from one another by subway. We work in the same office, but you're my boss. Technically, anywhere but in Jack McCoy's DA's office, we could be fired for fraternization. We have extremely long hours in our jobs that often include eating meals as we work. I am not going to sneak into a broom closet at work with you and I am not going to move in with you while you are my boss. For someone who supposedly has rules against sleeping with co-workers, this is really pushing it."

Connie can hear Mike doing some breathing control exercises over the phone before he says, "I don't want to fight with you Connie, but I need more than just a quick kiss every day and I think we need to work it out somehow. I would like to work it out somehow." Mike emphasizes the last "I".

"If you can find time in our busy schedules, I'm listening," says Connie.

There's a bit of silence and Connie can almost hear the synapses firing in Mike's brain before he says, "Are you still up for working out with me?"

"Yes, why?" Connie isn't sure where Mike is going with this.

Mike says, "Well, I would like to propose that if we are unable to spend the night with one another that we get up early the next morning to work out together and I'm not proposing that one of us is always the person who goes to the other person. We can mix it up. I could go over to your place one morning and you could come over to mine the next. If you don't want to go to the gym, we can jog around Central Park or something. I need to refit some exercise into my routine anyway and you had expressed an interest in the same. Because none of these locations would constitute work, you shouldn't object to public displays of affection. I would get my needs met and you would not have to worry about my bold gestures at work and we'd both get the exercise that we want. If we devote an hour and a half to this just on the mornings after we don't spend the night with one another, we should be able to get the exercise in that we want and clean up enough to go to work. What do you think?"

Connie thinks for a minute and says, "That's a really good idea. Why don't you come over tomorrow morning at five-thirty and we can do my five K route?"

"Can we make it six tomorrow morning? asks Mike. "It's already after eleven."

Connie thinks quickly and says, "Sure, but just this time though. I prefer to leave the apartment around seven-thirty and I'd like to eat breakfast before I leave for work."

"Since we're seeing each other tomorrow morning at six at your apartment, I should probably let you go. I need to finish up my cleaning and get to bed. Good night, Connie. I love you." Mike's tone is almost giddy.

"Good night, Mike. I love you, too." Connie hangs up and proceeds to get out of the bath and do the rest of the stuff she was planning to get done before heading to bed.

**A/N2:** So what did you think of Rosa? It seemed likely that Connie would meet up with her sister for dinner to catch up as the family gatherings tend not to be conducive to chatting amongst the adults especially when young children are involved. Let me know what you think of their minor spat? First one I wrote based on feedback from my beta. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the story. Feel free to point out any typos or glaring OOC moments with the characters :)


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** I was hoping that I could have posted this earlier, but I was on vacation at home this week and spent some of it writing more first draft Courtship chapters and didn't get a chance to post this here before now. I actually got two and a half chapters done this week, which won't get posted for a bit since when I'm in first draft mode, I focus on just writing and writing and writing mainly dialogue, which drives the plot such as it is. Once I run out of steam, I will go back and add actions and says/replies/asks to bracket the dialog and give the characters something to do, especially Mike since he is in constant motion. Then I will let it sit while I either work on posting or editing chapters I've gotten back from my beta. After a few days have past, I will go back and read it again for a copy edit before I send it off to my beta. When it get it back from my beta, I will read her comments and let it soak into my brain while I do more first draft work and when it comes close to the time for the chapter to be posted, I will go and fix the chapter based on my beta's comments and send it to her for a second read and fix the story based on my beta's second set of comments before I post it on my blog. Then I edit the content to meet the rating before I post here. I'm not sure whether you wanted to hear all about my reading process, but there it is. Hence I give thanks to my Beta on every chapter because of all the reading she has to do (not to mention the crazy questions I send her when I need a point of clarification). :) So lots of thanks to Tripp3235, my beta, who really puts up with a lot from me. On with the story.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Consuela Rubirosa, Across from Morgan's Market, Friday, February 12**

Mike arrives at Connie's apartment building by 5:55 in his clothes for work. When he gets upstairs after Connie buzzes him in, she is just getting her running gear on.

"Good Morning! I'm almost ready," says Connie as she leans in to kiss Mike.

"Good Morning!" he replies as he's removing his winter boots after the kiss. "I hope you don't mind that I change here. It's so much easier to carry a gym bag than to bring a flight pack for the suit."

"Not at all. Use the bedroom. You can leave your suit on the bed. I'm still using the bathroom," says Connie as she heads back into the bathroom.

Mike goes into Connie's bedroom and the bed has already been made. He quickly but carefully removes his suit, shirt, tie and socks and lays them on the bed. Then puts his winter running gear on. When he's done, Mike comes out of Connie's bedroom with a flashlight. It's still dark at six in the morning and he didn't know where they were going. A flashlight is a good idea.

Connie is waiting for him by the door with her flashlight in hand. "Ready?"

"Let's go. You lead the way," says Mike.

They do a ten-block circuit around her apartment building five times to get about five kilometers in. At this time of the morning, traffic is still slow, but it will heat up soon enough and only the bodegas are open. It's cold, winter air that keeps them cool as they run. The don't converse much as they are keeping a decent pace that prevents conversations, so about the only words uttered are directions from Connie to Mike.

As they finish the fourth time around the circuit, which is about twenty-two minutes into the jog, Connie yells, "Race you!" and takes off.

Mike is a bit quicker on the uptake this time and chases after her almost immediately. There are more people on the streets now, so Mike can't chase Connie as closely as he would like. When he finally gets to Connie's building, she's already inside and he has no way to get in. Eventually, someone exits the building and Mike takes advantage and tailgates through. When he gets to the elevators, Connie is nowhere to be seen and one of the elevators is seen to be ascending. _Looks like she's already gone up. What has gotten into her? She was ticked with me last night for asking her to move in with me, but now she wants to play chase?_

When Mike finally gets upstairs to Connie's floor, he doesn't see her, so she must be in the apartment. The door is locked, so he has to knock. Connie opens the door soon after with a glass of juice in hand.

"What took you so long?" Connie's eyes are full of mirth. "Want some?" Connie holds up her glass.

"Sure," says Mike as they walk into Connie's kitchen after he takes off his shoes. "Thanks for letting me know you wanted me to chase you for the last circuit."

"Would it have been any fun if I warned you ahead of time?" Connie counters with a smirk as she hands Mike his glass of juice. _Damn, he's looking good after the jog. But you were mad at him last night for pressuring you. Screw the mad, you want to jump him here and now._

After taking a sip of the juice, Mike says, "Well, if the end point of the route is this apartment, then I would venture to guess that you would never lose."

Connie finishes hers and puts the glass in the sink. She then saunters over to Mike, looks up into his eyes and says, "Don't you enjoy the chase?" before walking past him. When he doesn't immediately follow, Connie looks back at Mike with her best come hither look.

Mike quickly finishes his juice and puts the empty glass in the sink before following Connie into the hallway to the bedroom. "Yes, I do as a matter of fact." With that he takes hold of one of Connie's wrists and pulls her to him for a kiss that Connie willingly obliges. The kiss deepens quickly and Mike maneuvers Connie so that her back is against the wall. Soon jogging gear is coming off at a rapid rate and what remains, for the time being, is a jogging bra and matching panties on Connie and boxers on Mike. Mike makes vigorous love to Connie against the wall dislodging one of the paintings on it.

After they come down from their high, Mike says, "We better take that shower if we want to get to work on time."

Connie nods and says, "Why don't you go first since you have to clean up?"

"OK," says Mike as he lifts Connie a little to disengage her and sees the painting on the floor. "Umm. Looks like one of your paintings fell on the ground. Sorry."

"You go clean up," says Connie, "I'll take care of that."

"Are you sure? I can help?"

"Please go before you drip on my floor. It's OK. I'll deal with it," says Connie.

"Again, I'm sorry," says Mike before he heads into the bathroom and closes the door.

* * *

When Mike has redressed after his shower, he sees Connie making breakfast and the picture that toppled from their energetic lovemaking is on the kitchen table. The frame is obviously broken though the picture looks fine. Fortunately, it was an oil on canvas so no glass was involved.

"I'm so sorry about that," says Mike referring to the broken painting. "I'll pay to get it repaired."

"Don't worry about it," says Connie not looking up from cutting up fruit. "It's not entirely your fault. Though, now that we've christened that wall, we should avoid it in the future."

"Then let's at least split the cost of repairs." Mike is contrite.

"Sure."

"I need to go, since I'm the one who is supposed to be there early today," says Mike as he leans in to give Connie a kiss on the cheek.

Turning to face him after the kiss, Connie says, "Stay for breakfast. I still have to shower. Unless you have a meeting ..."

Mike is surprised by this offer but is glad of it. He was hoping he'd get to spend more time with her. "Not until ten," says Mike. "Are you sure?" Mike isn't sure of where he stands with Connie after the fight last night, plus breaking the picture frame this morning.

Connie smiles at him and says, "I asked, didn't I?"

Mike silently acknowledges with a slight nod and says, "Did you want any help?"

"You can help yourself to coffee. I'm almost done anyway."

Mike leans to see that Connie hasn't made any for herself, so he gets two cups out of the cupboard and makes their coffees. Mike likes how this domesticity feels and still wishes that Connie would reconsider moving in together, but says nothing. When he's done, Mike asks, "Did you want yours now or did you want it on the table?"

"Thanks. Table's fine," says Connie. "You can move the frame to the other coffee table in the living room."

Mike complies and as he returns to the kitchen, a thought strikes him. As he's setting the table, he asks, "I'm not trying to pressure you, but I was thinking of making dinner for you on Saturday night after your appointment, if you're not busy. I had promised to cook for you sooner rather than later. You don't have to stay over or anything. If you'd like, I'd even drive you home afterward, I rented a car for Sunday and I was planning to pick it up yesterday afternoon anyway." Now Mike is rambling but he can't help himself, he is expecting Connie's rejection of his plan.

Connie interrupts him before he can continue. "Sure, that sounds nice. What were you thinking of making?" Connie starts putting their breakfast on the table.

Mike sits down and says, "I'm not sure yet. I figure I'd go to the grocery store after you head out for your appointment and see what looks good. Do you have a preference?"

Connie thinks about this a little as she takes a forkful of fruits to eat. After she chews and swallows, she looks at Mike and says, "Surprise me. I'm not terribly picky when it comes to exotic cuisines. Heat and flavor don't bother me. So long as we're not talking exotic proteins like cockroaches or cats, I'm good."

"Don't worry on that front. The most exotic I do is lamb." Mike smiles at the thought of cooking uncommon meats.

They start to really dig into their breakfast and the topics turn into more mundane stuff like the weather. Mike is finished first and he asks, "I forgot to ask how the meeting with Robbie Vickery went yesterday."

Connie swallows her food and says, "Don't expect terrible brilliance from him. He spent most of the two hours talking to my chest." Connie rolls her eyes at this. "Even his lawyer was getting annoyed with him. I would suspect that he could lose his cool on the stand next week."

Mike takes a sip of coffee and shakes his head. "I'll keep that in mind. We knew he wasn't the greatest witness to begin with, but he's all we've got for certain dates and times."

After Connie swallows her mouthful, she says, "Are you ready for your opening remarks?"

"Just about," says Mike as he puts down his near empty coffee cup. "I wouldn't mind if you looked it over this afternoon to give me your thoughts."

"Did you want to rehearse it this afternoon?"

"I can't until after four," says Mike. "There's a plea agreement meeting at Riker's for the Edwards case at two."

"We can do four. My calendar is actually open this afternoon and we're just going over to your place afterward. We can eat at the office before going if it takes that long. Even Jack likes to go home on a Friday night. It should be pretty quiet. Just send me what you have for now and we can meet at four."

Mike pulls out his Blackberry, does some stuff with it and says, "I just sent it and requested a meeting for four. I really should get going." Mike finishes the last of his coffee then gets up and puts his dishes in the sink before kissing Connie on the forehead. "I really love you, you know. Thanks for breakfast."

"I love you, too." Connie gets up and walks Mike to the door. Before he goes, Connie says softly, "This was a really good idea." Connie gives Mike a kiss goodbye and he's gone. Mike can't help but smile all the way to the office.

Meanwhile as Connie is cleaning up the kitchen, her Blackberry beeps. It's a text from Mike. "If you want to bring the broken frame with you, I can take it to a framing shop on Saturday afternoon while you're at your appointment. Again, I'm sorry about breaking it. Love you."

Connie quickly texts an affirmative and packs the frame into the bag she's already bringing. Before Connie leaves her apartment, she contemplates giving Mike keys to her apartment again and ends up putting them in her purse as she can't decide. She also reminds herself that she has two days to wrap her gift for Mike for Valentine's Day. Just as she was about to leave the phone rings.

When Connie arrives at the office, Mike is not in his office, but she does find the Stuber file on her desk with a sticky note from him that says, "Mother on the defense list. Check out the address." When Connie flips to the information on the new defense witness, there's another love note from Mike. _I had fun this morning. I'm looking forward to this weekend. I love you._ After filing this new love note away in her purse, Connie pulls up Mike's opening remarks for the Conway case on Monday morning.

* * *

When four in the afternoon rolls around, Connie is waiting for Mike in his office when she hears her Blackberry chime at her desk. She goes and get it to find a text from Mike. "Stuck in traffic. Accident on Williamsburg bridge. Call me and we can meet over the phone." Connie sends Mike her edits of his opening remarks before dialing Mike's number.

"Hi Connie," says Mike and he picks up.

"Hi. Did you get the edits I sent?" asks Connie.

"I'm downloading it. Can I put you on speakerphone?" asks Mike.

"Who's driving? You or Conlan?"

"Actually, I'm in a cab," says Mike. "Conlan is on his way home. We took a cab as we were going in the opposite directions after the plea, plus I don't like driving in rush hour. Tell me what you think as I'm downloading it."

"Put me on speaker," says Connie. "I thought it was good, but you should remove the ex-fiancee since she's not testifying for him anymore."

"Shouldn't she be in there somewhere since it would show that even she doesn't think he's innocent?" asks Mike puzzled.

"I think that you can use that bit of information in your cross of him," suggests Connie.

"I wrote the first draft of opening before we intervened and haven't revisited it, so I didn't know about that then. Did you remove it for me?" asks Mike.

"Yes," says Connie. "What is your strategy with him anyway? Remember Dr. Skoda mentioned that he's a sociopath and he does cost/benefit analysis of behavior."

"Not quite sure yet. He's the last on the list to testify, so we still have a few days to see how he acts in court. Let me quickly read your edits."

After a few minutes, while Connie is looking up other things on the computer, Mike says, "I read it and why specifically do you think that I should leave out the fiancee?"

"I think that since she seems to be out of the picture now, we don't want to muddle the issues with the jury. One of them is already distracted, I think we should keep it as simple as possible."

"That's true. The juror Conway picked was an odd choice. Ummm. The cab is pulling up to the building. We can finish this in my office when I'm up there. Love you."

"Bye, Mike." Connie blushes even though no one can hear Mike. _You are evil Mike Cutter. You know I can't say anything back when I'm in the office. You will pay for this later._

The meeting resumes when Mike arrives a few minutes later and goes on until 6:30, with several more changes as Mike rehearses. Often what sounds fine on paper sounds odd or off when spoken.

As Connie is packing up, Mike approaches with his coat on and his briefcase. "Where did you want to go to dinner?"

"I'm good with take out tonight. I don't want to bring my luggage everywhere." Connie indicates her small suitcase that resembles one of those rolling laptop cases.

Mike points to the suitcase and says, "Let me take that. Why don't we go over to my place to drop this off, change and then head out to grab a bite? Friday nights are meant for going out and since we've been swamped with Woll work, I don't think we've actually had a free Friday night since late last year. I know of an excellent Indian restaurant within walking distance from my place that is if your main concern is to avoid lugging this around."

Connie finds it funny and endearing that when Mike is nervous around her, he rambles, so she lets him go on. Finally, when she's put the last of her stuff in her briefcase and is putting on her coat, she says, "That sounds good. Let's go."

When they get downstairs, Mike hails a cab and they put Connie's bag into the trunk. There was no point in taking the subway with that bag. Once both are inside the back seat, Mike takes Connie's hand and strokes it quietly. He's still feeling on edge so he treads lightly. He's also thinking about his Valentine's Day plans. After their fight last night, Mike is desperately hoping that it's not over the top. He does not want to fight with Connie on their first Valentine's Day together.

Meanwhile, Connie is quiet for another reason entirely. She is plotting to make Mike pay for ending their work meeting this afternoon with a casual, "Love you" knowing full well that since she is in the office, she cannot respond in kind. What can she do to torture him? _I wonder what Mike's response would be if I suggested that he be tied up? I'm sure he has other ideas in mind, but I need to teach him a lesson._

**

* * *

A/N2:** Think Mike and Connie are on the mend or is this just another lull before another heated exchange of words. Also, how do you think Mike is going to react to Connie's idea of torture? :) As always, I would love to hear your thoughts! I can discuss Mike/Connie until the cows come home, just ask my beta. lol.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** A short chapter but one that's earlier since I have to be out of town Saturday and Sunday and there's no guarantee that I will have time to post while I'm away. Minor Spoilers for Brilliant Disguise since the timeline is now getting closer to the court portion of that episode. Let me know if you get the self reference I threw in there. Double points for figuring the episode being self referenced. ;) Much thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter and to my beta, Tripp3235, who puts up with me.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**In the Neighborhood of the Apartment of Michael Cutter, Friday, February 12**

As Mike and Connie are walking hand-in-hand back to his apartment after a quiet dinner, Connie says, "I got a call from that firm for an interview this morning."

"That's great," says Mike trying to be supportive and enthusiastic.

"I hope the Conway trial won't interfere with my breakfast with them on Thursday at seven."

"I wouldn't worry. We don't tend to convene until nine anyway. If something does, I can handle it. Are you excited? nervous?"

"Mainly nervous," confesses Connie. "It's been five years since I last did an interview. I know that it's generally better to go on them every so often to keep up that skill set, but I really like my job, so I didn't feel the need to test the waters. The main thing is I need to project interest but not be overenthusiastic. I also don't want to burn any bridges."

"I think you'll be fine," says Mike. "You're one of the most diplomatic people I know. If you want my help, you only need to ask."

"Thanks," says Connie with a smile, encouraged by Mike's confidence in her. "I might just do that when I have things straight in my mind. They called me at home just before I left this morning to arrange it and I'm still just processing it."

They continue to walk for a few minutes, when Mike stops at the display window of a jewelry store and asks casually, "Is there something here that you wouldn't wear? I'm only asking so I know what to avoid in the future."

Connie thinks for a bit as she wonders where this is going and says cautiously, "Nothing ostentatious. I wear jewelry to accent, not to show how much I can wear. I'm also allergic to nickel so that eliminates a lot of stuff for me."

"Is there something here that you really like?" asks Mike.

"That set is elegant," says Connie pointing to a small olive green pendant with matching earrings.

"What about that one?" asks Mike pointing to an elegant diamond pendant in white gold.

"That's nice, too." Connie has to admit.

"Let's go try them on. They're still open." Mike leads Connie inside.

A salesperson approaches them shortly there after and asks, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, my girlfriend would like to try the olive green pendant set and the diamond pendant in white gold in your window display," Mike says with a smile.

"Of course. Excellent tastes." The salesperson returns Mike's smile before going to the window display to retrieve the items.

They are standing at a display case of engagement rings and Mike wonders if it would be prudent to ask Connie's opinion of them. Mike knows that he plans to propose one day and it will require a lot of planning to pull it off. When he notices Connie looking at them, he gently and quietly asks, "Do you have a preference?"

Connie blushes from being caught looking at engagement rings and says in the same quiet tones, "I prefer something understated yet elegant." She is definitely nowhere near ready to take that step, but she couldn't help looking at them since they are right in front of her.

Before they could continue their discussion, the salesperson comes back with both items of interest. Connie puts on the olive green pendant set and it looks stunning on her. Mike is certain that if matched with an olive green outfit, it would look even more remarkable.

Breaking through Mike's reverie, the salesperson says, "That will look even better with a black or an olive green blouse."

"Absolutely," says Mike quickly to prevent either the salesperson or Connie from thinking that he was daydreaming. "Why don't you try the diamond pendant?"

Connie quickly slips the green set off and puts on the diamond pendant. This one looks even nicer in Mike's eyes, but it being white gold, Mike asks, "Does this pendant chain contain nickel? My girlfriend has a nickel allergy and this pendant being white gold provides concern."

"We actually minimize the amount of nickel in our white gold, so unless your allergies are very severe, it should not be a problem," says the salesperson as she looks at Connie.

"No, the allergy is mild to moderate," says Connie.

"Then it should be of no concern." The salesperson smiles.

Connie takes the diamond pendant off and hands it back to the salesperson.

"Is there something else I could show you?"

Mike speaks up quickly not wanting to lose his courage. "Could we look at that ring?" Mike points to an elegant engagement ring in the display case where they are standing.

"But, of course," says the salesperson as she reaches down to lock the cabinet and take out the ring that Mike pointed to. It is an elegant, three-diamond gold ring where the larger center stone is bracketed by two smaller companions.

Connie tries it on and it suits her extremely well.

This time the salesperson breaks into Connie's reverie as she says, "That works very well with your frame." Connie smiles back at the salesperson.

Mike spies another ring that within Connie's criteria. "Can we try this one out?" asks Mike pointing to another elegant gold ring but this time with five equal-sized diamond in a row.

"Most certainly." The salesperson smiles and reaches for the ring in question.

Connie puts this one on and it looks even better than the previous one.

"This one is 24-karat gold, so even less of an issue with nickel. This is a matching wedding band that locks into the engagement ring, if you're into that type of thing." The salesperson hands Connie the matching band and it has a nice way of interlocking with the wedding band.

Connie admires the ring for a little bit, then takes it off to interlock the wedding band before putting both on for size and then takes it off.

"Is there something else I can help you with?" asks the salesperson as she puts both rings back into the display case.

"No. Thank you for your time," says Connie quickly before Mike can find something else for her to try.

Mike is puzzled but goes along. "Yes, Thank you for your time."

Mike then escorts Connie back out into the streets.

"Is something wrong?" asks Mike once the door to the store closes. He automatically takes up Connie's hand again.

"Isn't it too early to be thinking of buying expensive jewelry, especially engagement rings?" asks Connie.

"It's never too early to plan and how am I suppose to know what you like, if we don't check things out together?" counters Mike.

"I think we have a while yet in that department," says Connie

"Aren't I suppose to spend two months salary on an engagement ring? That takes a lot of long term planning," says Mike.

"Two months salary? Who told you that?" asks Connie.

"One of my college roommate's girlfriends," says Mike. "At least that's what she harped about in my presence, and when I checked it out once, it turns out to be standard."

"I think perhaps for someone starting out, but seems a tad exorbitant for someone in our stage of life. I'd rather save that money for our children's education or our retirement."

"Duly noted," says Mike. "Though I did like the two pendants you tried on."

"They were very nice," comments Connie.

"By the way, I got an email from my mother today," says Mike trying to casually bring up this topic. "She would like us to visit in March sometime. Roger is supposed to be back at the beginning of March and she would like you to meet him."

"I'm sure we can find a Saturday or Sunday that would suit. Where is she?" asks Connie.

"Just outside of Greenwich," says Mike. "I'd say about an hour away. She does a lot of business in Manhattan and didn't want to be too far from that, but she didn't like the ethnic diversity in New York."

"Why doesn't it surprise me?" says Connie. "She lives about an hour away and she does a lot of business in Manhattan and yet before last weekend, it had been fifteen years since you last saw her halfway across the country? I have to say that I don't understand your family dynamics. Though having met her, it makes a lot of sense."

"If we have a weekend free, we could find a suitable bed and breakfast and take that country drive you wanted to do," suggests Mike.

"That sounds nice," says Connie. "I'll check my calendar and let you know."

When they get back to Mike's apartment, Connie and Mike decides to sit on the couch in the living room to watch some TV. Mike is somewhat disappointed that his normal New York procedural drama has been pre-empted by the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. After the athletes start to file in by country, they are both bored by this, so Mike decides to pull out an episode recorded on his DVR that he hasn't had a chance to see yet. It is one where the talk show host is being blackmailed. When Mike asks whether she is interested in watching, she says that since it was something she did every day, there was no point in watching what she did for entertainment, so Connie decides to go unpack.

When Connie takes the time to unpack her suitcase entirely and now part of Mike's closet and one drawer are hers. _Is this how it starts? Clothes in a closet that then extends to intermingling of other stuff. We seem to be domesticating._

Now that she's hearing the final strains of the show's end credits filtering into the bedroom, Connie decides to change into her sleep gear and heads back out to the living room to watch the eleven o'clock news with Mike. Mike takes a look at the Cornell t-shirt that Connie is wearing and smiles approvingly. "What is it with you and old college t-shirts? You are the only woman I know who can make them look hot by using them as sleepwear. Come here." Mike holds his arms open for Connie.

Connie curls up on the couch beside Mike, his arms firmly wrapped around Connie. The main items were the Olympics opening ceremonies and the death of the Georgian Luger, who had died in his training run earlier that day. After the newscast switch to the local news, Mike turns off the TV and says, "I seem to recall that you needed some help with testing a flexible ring. Hmmm?" Mike then leans in and kisses Connie on the neck.

"I brought it with me, but I'm not suppose to start until after my next monthly, which won't be until the end of the month. Oh Mike!" Connie is enjoying Mike's kisses and barely gets that sentence out.

Mike disengages after a few more kisses, looks at Connie intently and says, "Why don't you bring it out and we can give it a try on the couch? We can always take it out afterward." Mike is giving Connie his best puppy dog expression, which she cannot resist. So she gets up and takes it out of the shared drawer, goes and gets a condom out of the nightstand and brings them both back into the living room.

Mike makes short work of the ring packaging and places the flexible ring on the coffee table. Next, he pulls Connie in for a kiss, which involves no small amount of tonsil hockey. Meanwhile, Connie pulls his shirt out of his pants to gain access to this taut abdominals. Each graze of Connie's fingernails on his skin is like a burning touch, which just eggs Mike on. This erotic dance with the ring continues to its natural, satisfactory conclusion.

Once they recover from their respective highs, he gives Connie a kiss and says, "So do you like how I inserted the ring?"

"Could you insert the ring like this every month?" Connie smiles at Mike before kissing him back.

After the kiss, Mike says, "I think we can arrange that." Mike smiles back, proud of his accomplishment.

"Well, now you're going to have to fish it out as it isn't time to start using it just yet."

"Oh. I think that can be arranged. Let me quickly clean up first." Mike pulls out of Connie and heads to the bathroom.

"Don't take too long and bring a towel. We need to wipe down your couch." Connie calls out after him. "Thank goodness it's leather," Connie adds in a lower voice. She gets up and picks up their discarded clothes and takes them into Mike's bedroom. She then takes the packaging for the condom and the ring, discarding the packaging for the condom and minimizing the packaging for the ring and putting the remaining box back in the dresser drawer before returning to the couch in her original position.

Mike returns in about five minutes with a towel. Connie can't help but admire the well-toned muscles on Mike's naked body as he walks back into the living room. Connie takes the towel from Mike and wipes away the evidence of their lovemaking. "I'll go over that with a wipe in the morning." Connie then turns, so that she's now sitting on the couch normally, slightly slouching so that Mike has access.

Mike reaches in with two fingers and pulls out the ring. With a flourish, Mike presents the ring to Connie and says, "My Queen, your wish is my command."

Connie sits up and giggles a little. She then takes the ring from Mike's hands and says playing along, "Thank you, Oh brave knight! I do believe your act of heroism in retrieving the ring deserves a kiss."

Connie leans in and gives Mike a kiss on the cheek like a Queen would to a brave knight of her realm.

"My Queen, if you are ready for bed, let me take you there."

Connie nods and Mike picks her up and takes her to bed. Within ten minutes, they are curled up against one another and both are fast asleep.

* * *

**A/N2:** Just as an FYI. One of the two rings described is my actual engagement ring, which I absolutely love. The other was also under consideration when we went looking at engagement rings many years ago. Feel free to guess which is the one I have. I'll tell you if you're right in my review reply. So is Mike smart for taking Connie to a jewelry store to check out what she likes or is he being too premature and pushing things? As always, I would love to hear what you think of this chapter! Constructive criticism always welcome!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Sorry this is a little late. Have had a horrendously busy week that started when I went out of town for the weekend last weekend and just ended tonight at 7pm. To give you an inkling of how busy it was, the week involved the trip last weekend where we left early on Saturday, came home late on Sunday and involved 16+ hrs of driving, a large family dinner, three hour-long appointments, a family photo shoot, a funeral, a get together with friends this afternoon and guests on Friday night and all day Saturday. Did I mention the berry picking this morning after my three year old woke up at 7am or that I have a full time job? I'm bushed and exhausted and work starts a new week tomorrow. :) Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, who asked some questions of this chapter that made me think, causing some rework to make it better.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Michael Cutter, 6325 Cornelius Drive, Saturday, February 13**

Mike is in a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, leaning against the kitchen counter reading something on his Blackberry when Connie comes out of the bedroom. Coffee is in the process of being made. Mike looks up when he hears Connie padding out and sees Connie rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Good morning, sleep well?"

Connie yawns and says, "Good morning. Pretty well, but for some reason, I'm still tired. Maybe it's the lateness of the past few nights followed by yesterday's early morning. Why are you up so early?

Clicking a few keys on the Blackberry, Mike says, "Just going over my recipes to make sure I know what I need to get this afternoon and planning my route as I have multiple stops and only so much time." Mike leans down and gives Connie a kiss since she's finally made it to his side.

Trying to look at Mike's Blackberry screen, Connie asks, "I thought you were just go to the grocery store and see what's good? Have you changed your mind and made a decision?"

Trying not to let Connie see what he's looking up, Mike says, "Yes, but I want to surprise you. We have about three hours before your appointment at the spa. I was thinking that we could have brunch nearby and I could walk you to your appointment, if you'd like."

"Sure," says Connie as she watches the coffee brew.

"Where is it?" asks Mike as he fiddles with his Blackberry.

Connie give Mike the name and address and he proceeds to punch in the coordinates. "That's only a fifteen minute walk from here."

"I did mention that it was closer to your place than mine." Connie smiles at Mike.

"Well, we can have a more leisurely morning than I had anticipated," says Mike. "There's a great breakfast place I know a block from there."

The coffee has just finished brewing and Connie takes a couple of mugs from the shelf and makes their coffee while Mike continues planning. "When do you think you'll be done at the spa? Did you want me to pick you up?"

"I should be done around 5:30," says Connie. "I can walk here myself. The walk will do me some good." Connie hands Mike his coffee and begins to sip hers.

"Since you're not staying the night, I'm going to go to the gym tomorrow morning. Did you want to come?" asks Mike before he takes a sip of his coffee.

"No, I need to get ready for our Valentine's Day adventure you've planned. You're picking me up at eleven, right?" asks Connie.

"Yes." Mike looks at Connie and smiles.

"Are you going to give me another hint?" asks Connie.

"No," says Mike

"You're firm on that?"

"Yes."

"Pretty please with sugar on top?" Connie bats her eyelashes in hopes of getting him to acquiesce.

"No."

"You're no fun, Mike!" Connie wrinkles her nose at him.

"I wouldn't say that." Mike puts down his Blackberry and puts his arm around Connie before taking a sip of his coffee.

Looking at Mike, Connie says, "What would you say then by keeping everything all secret?"

"I would say that it's fun to have surprises," says Mike while looking at Connie.

"So if I were to plan a surprise birthday party for your next birthday, you'd be thrilled," says Connie while expecting the exact opposite.

"I certainly wouldn't mind," says Mike. "I've never had a surprise birthday party before."

"Really?" asks Connie rather surprised. "No friend or previous girlfriend ever planned one for you?"

"Nope, and for whatever reason, there are never serious girlfriends around my birthday." Mike is a little wistful.

"Well, this serious girlfriend is going to throw you a surprise party for something in the next year," says Connie with some insistence.

Mike puts down his coffee, looks at Connie and with more emotion than either expected, he says, "I'd really like that," and hugs her as though his life depended on it. "I love you so much." Mike kisses Connie on her head. Connie, for her part, loves the warm and fuzzies that she's feeling from Mike. She finds it astounding that something as simple as a surprise party would generate such emotion from him.

Connie looks up at Mike and says, "I love you, too," before she leans in and gives Mike a kiss. Mike, of course, takes advantage of the situation and deepens it quickly. Soon hands are roaming up shirts and down underwear.

In between kisses, Mike asks, "Couch, ... shower, ... or bed?"

"Are we in a huge hurry?" asks Connie.

"No, ... not really... Why?"

"Let's head to the bed, I have an idea I want to try."

"OK." Mike then picks Connie up and takes her into the bedroom where he puts her gently on the bed before climbing in beside her.

Connie puts her hands on either side of Mike's face and kisses him fervently before saying, "I was thinking of tying you up and having my way with you. Do you trust me enough to do that?"

Mike is surprised by the suggestion, but quickly agrees. After all, if he couldn't trust Connie, who could he trust?

As their breathing is returning to normal, Connie lifts her head and looks at Mike. "So was that worth it?"

"That was incredible. Where did you learn to do that? Actually, I don't want to know. I'll just silently thank whoever it was that taught you to do that." Mike doesn't care to know about Connie's other boyfriends, though in actual fact, he knows of two of them already.

"So you're not upset with me still?" asks Connie.

"Was I upset?" Mike tries to play the innocent.

"Let me untie your hands. It's not the same without you holding me afterwards." Connie pulls the end of the scarf and the knot from Mike's right wrist unravels. Another quick tug on the other scarf and Mike's left hand is free. Mike immediately puts his hands on either side of Connie's face and gives her a good kiss.

When the kiss ends, Mike looks into Connie's eyes and says, "I love you," before pulling her in for another long kiss. When that kiss ends, Mike tries to hug Connie and roll to his side, but he can't as his ankles are still tied. Connie moves to free them, but she can't without getting off of Mike and he's not ready. "Leave them for now. I can just hold you like this."

After a few more minutes, Mike says, "I better go clean up."

"Would you like to shower together?" asks Connie hopefully.

Mike looks at Connie and says, "If you're expecting more, I think it will take a few hours. This was so good that certain parts of my body are aching."

"Oh," says Connie somewhat disappointed.

"Besides, if we don't want to hurry through brunch, I think we both need to take a quick shower separately because otherwise, we may have to skip brunch."

"OK." With that, Connie jumps off and runs off to the shower without untying Mike.

"Hey, what about?" shouts Mike as he hears the door to the bathroom close and the shower starts. "That's not fair," says Mike to no one in particular before attempting to remove the bonds at his ankles. _She surprises me everyday with something different and I just fall more in love with her. I wish that we hadn't wasted the two years before we came together. I just pray that everything works out for us in the long term. In six short weeks since that first night, I can't imagine not being able to kiss her, to hold her, to be with her. Everything about her is so addictive. The smell of her scent mixed with her perfume. The taste of her. The way it feels when I'm holding her when we fall asleep. The amazing sex. The sound of her voice. Her look of her body. It's all so intoxicating. I am an addict and my drug is Connie. How will I last tonight without her? Just don't think about it too much. You'll just torture yourself and you have a lot of preparations to do for tonight and tomorrow. _

"Just don't think about it," says Mike before removing the last knot. Mike tosses the ties on the bed.

"Think about what, Mike?" asks Connie as she comes back into the bedroom with a towel to dry her hair.

_Did I just say that outloud?_ "Oh, nothing," says Mike. "I'm just talking to myself. Are you done with the bathroom?"

"Let me get my toiletry kit from the bathroom and you can have it." Connie goes and gets it while Mike grabs his t-shirt from the floor so that he has something to keep himself from dripping all over the floor.

When Connie comes back with her toiletry kit, Mike walks by holding his t-shirt to a certain part of his anatomy, gives Connie a kiss before heading into the bathroom. Connie calls out a "Sorry" before she starts to giggle. That's the last thing Mike hears before he closes the bathroom door.

Brunch is a relaxed affair where Mike and Connie spend the entire time teasing one another about how their latest sexcapade had unfolded. Afterward, Mike walks Connie to the spa where they part ways. Mike then takes the subway to the car rental agency close to work as he had figured it would work out better for Monday morning when he had to return it.

Unsurprisingly, the whole procedure takes about a half hour from the time he walks in to the time he has the keys. Because Chinatown is a short walk from work, Mike leaves the car at the rental lot before walking to the Thai grocery store in Chinatown. Googling had led Mike here and a call earlier that morning while Connie was still asleep confirmed that they have what he needs.

Mike's menu includes Tom Yum soup, beef with lemongrass, a green curry, pad thai, steamed rice and a mango pudding recipe that Aunt Millie had emailed overnight. So, he spends about a half hour gathering all his ingredients before waiting to pay. It being Saturday, it was a popular time and the wait is almost as long as the time it took him to gather his stuff. Finally, he gets out with his stuff nearly an hour after he got there.

Next stop is the framers, which is just around the corner from the jewelry store he and Connie were at last night, since he still had to pick up Connie's gift. So Mike drives home and puts away his groceries before dropping the broken frame off at the framers before heading to the jewelry store.

Mike takes a quick look at the window display to ensure that the two pendants Connie had tried on last night are still there before going in. The salesperson who had helped them last night was there again and approaches Mike when she sees him enter.

"Good afternoon. Are you here for one of the pieces that the lady you were with tried on last night?"

"Yes, I'd like to look at the two pendants, please."

"Very well," says the salesperson before she goes to retrieve the two items.

Mike spends the time admiring the two engagement rings that Connie had tried on in the display case. Mike imagines what it would be like to propose to Connie and be able to put one of those rings on her finger. _It's at least a half year off before I have to get one but I should price them and see if I can start a payment plan._

"Here you go," says the sales person as she places the two pendants on the display case for Mike to see, waking him up from his daydream.

Mike quickly focuses on the items before him. The olive green pendant set was beautiful against Connie's skin, but the diamond pendant is more versatile. With any luck, Connie would be willing to put it on for dinner and perhaps leave it on afterward. Deciding quickly, Mike says, "I'll take the diamond pendant."

"Very nice." The salesperson comments and smiles. She then rings up the sale and Mike is on his way back to the apartment in under ten minutes. He stops at the liquor store between the jewelers and his apartment to pick up a Riesling to go with dinner. It is already 3:30 when Mike gets in and he has to hustle if he wants to have dinner on the table for 6:30.

Connie is very relaxed when she arrives at the spa. She's getting a hot stone massage, an aromatherapy facial, a manicure and pedicure, and some waxing. Connie was lucky to get her favorite practitioner for the waxing but she had to settle for whoever was available for the rest of her treatments.

After the waxing is done, the massage gives her in a sense of peace and tranquility, so much so that she falls asleep during her facial, which makes her a little groggy when she goes to get her pedicure.

"Getting ready for Valentine's Day tomorrow?" The girl who's name tag says, "Sarah," asks as she's working on Connie's left foot. Her right one is currently soaking.

"Yes," says Connie. "Have there been a lot of Valentine's Day clients?"

"Seems like that's what everyone is up to," says Sarah, who has a heavy Brooklyn accent. "It's been a crazy day today. We've had clients since 6:00 and we won't close until 10:00 tonight."

"Wow! I hope you're not working all those hours?" asks Connie.

"No, I started at 9:00 this morning and you'll be my last client," Sarah smiles. "Going anywhere special?"

"Actually, I have no idea," confesses Connie. "My boyfriend wants to surprise me and hasn't given me many clues."

"What do you know?" asks Sarah, curious.

"We're going to at least two places and maybe staying overnight somewhere," says Connie.

"Two places?" Sarah raises an eyebrow at this.

"Yes, apparently there's some outdoor activity followed by being inside and then we're having dinner somewhere that requires formal wear," says Connie.

"Wow, he's going all out," Sarah is impressed. "Is he proposing?"

"I hope not," says Connie slightly alarmed since they did go to a jewelry store the previous night. "We've only been together for about six weeks."

"Really? I wish my boyfriend was that attentive," says Sarah lamenting slightly. "We've been together three years and he's taking me to dinner at the local Italian restaurant. He did that the last two Valentine's. But I can't complain, he's good guy who's got a steady job in this economy. Can't say that for half the men out there."

"So true," agrees Connie. "My boyfriend is really attentive. He's making dinner for me tonight. I'm suppose to walk over to his place after this."

"Wow! A guy that cooks," says Sarah wondering how this girl got so lucky and motions Connie to switch legs. "That's different. What's he making?"

"Don't know, but he said that it would be an exotic cuisine. He wanted to surprise me." Connie smiles at the thought. This is where Connie realizes how very lucky she is to have someone like Mike who is always attentive and concerned about her.

"Your guy sure likes to surprise you." Sarah notices. "Do you like surprises?"

Thinking about it for a bit, Connie says,"Generally. His surprises have been great. He sent me flowers at work two weeks in a row and he leaves love notes in our files." Connie looks around to see if there is anyone she recognizes and lowers her voice for the last part of the sentence.

Sarah lowers her voice because Connie does. "So it's an office romance?"

"Yes." Connie smiles at the thought. _I can't believe that I'm sharing this with a stranger and I'm OK with it._

"How are they? I'm not sure that I'd want to see my boyfriend that often," confesses Sarah.

"Well, the good part is that I see him daily, but the bad part is that I see him daily," says Connie.

"At least he's not here waiting on you." Sarah then lowers her voice and says, "We have some that sit in the waiting room the entire time." Sarah rolls her eyes.

"Really?" asks Connie.

"Yup and they are usually the ones that are here weekly."

"Don't they get bored?" Connie wonders.

"They are usually talking on their phones or playing some video game." Sarah shrugs. "What color did you want?" Sarah gets up to look at the color selection.

"Bright red. I have a red dress and I want my nails to match."

"Orange red or blue red?" asks Sarah as she's trying to decide which of the bright reds to bring to Connie.

Connie thinks a bit and says,"Blue red."

Sarah takes three bottles of nail polish down from the shelf and brings them over to Connie. Connie chooses one called Truly Red and it is the shade that defines red.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to hear about your dress," says Sarah.

"Sure," says Connie. "It's made of the softest sheer material you've ever felt and bareback with the front held up by a loop behind my neck. It's A-line and goes just below my knees. I found it on sale last year and this is the first opportunity I'll have to wear it."

"I'm sure it will be stunning. What jewelry are you wearing with it?" asks Sarah.

"A pair of white gold earrings with a couple of diamond studs and a white gold chain," says Connie.

"That will look amazing," says Sarah smiling at the thought of such an ensemble.

After that the conversation turned to celebrity gossip, latest fashions, local news and how the weather was unseasonably cold and snowy this year. Before Connie knew it, she was done. She had paid for her treatments and tipped before getting her manicure, so all she had to do was wait for her nails to dry.

Sarah comes by one last time while Connie is in the waiting area and says, "I hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your boyfriend. He sounds like a keeper."

"Thanks! You, too." Connie smiles at Sarah.

With a bit of quick dry spray, in fifteen minutes, the polish has dried to the point where Connie can wear shoes again. If it was the summer, she would have brought flip-flops but not for mid-February.

Night has fallen and snow is falling when Connie walks out of the spa. It's the lovely fluffy stuff that you see on TV when Hollywood tries to depict snow. Connie loves this weather because it makes New York City smell that much nicer after it settles and before the people start taking their dogs out again.

Connie decides to call Mike to see how he is doing and to let him know she was done.

"Mike Cutter." Obviously Mike didn't check his call display.

"It's me," says Connie. "I just finished and I'm my way over. How are things going?"

There is a pause and the sound of dishes being cooked before Mike says, "They are going. Just take your time and let yourself in."

"Is everything OK?" asks Connie concerned about the various kitchen noises that she is hearing in the background."

Again another pause occurs before Mike speaks, "Everything is under control, but I'm kinda busy right now. I'll see you soon. Love you."

"See you. Love you, too." says Connie before hanging up.

"I wonder what he's cooking?" Connie wonders aloud to no one in particular.

* * *

**A/N2:** Mike is undoubtedly besotted, but is he really a Connie addict? Please tell me what you think of this chapter, warts and all. Constructive criticism always welcome! Now I will post and go to sleep!


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Have the day off (it's a company floater) and my mother-in-law (MIL) is flying back home as we speak (her seven week visit is finally over), so thought I'd post the next chapter. So sad to read over the weekend that Dick Wolf confirms that the mothership is dead. I guess I was holding a glimmer of hope that it wasn't entirely over yet. Such a shame that they couldn't get even another half season out. :( Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. Please keep them coming! Thanks to my beta, Tripp3235, for not being afraid to tell me when I'm doing something wrong.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Michael Cutter, 6325 Cornelius Drive, Saturday, February 13**

Even before Connie unlocks the apartment door, she can hear some jazz music playing and smell the delicious food in the hallway. She hopes that Mike's neighbors enjoys ethnic food as much as she does. When she does open the door, the front hallway and the living room straight ahead looks normal other than the delicious smell wafting from the kitchen.

Connie calls out, "I'm back."

From the kitchen, amidst the clanging and banging sounds of Asian cooking, Mike says, "In here."

Connie takes off her coat and boots and hangs her coat up in the front closet before she heads to the kitchen. When she walks into the entrance of the kitchen, she gets as far as, "Smells de-", before she sees what Mike has been up to in the last few hours.

Something must have exploded in the normally spartan and tidy kitchen that Mike keeps. Every horizontal surface is covered in open cans, packages, grocery bags and small kitchen gadgets that Connie didn't even know Mike had. There is even been a blender that had been used for something in the mess.

Mike is furiously frying what looks like some sort of noodle dish in a wok on the hot stove that up to now Connie has never seen touched. When he sees her, he smiles sheepishly and says, "Hi! I had less time than I thought, so I haven't been cleaning up as I go. Why don't you get the wine out of the fridge and relax in the living room? I'll come and open it when I'm done with this."

"Don't worry. I can open the wine." Connie crosses the partially clutter floor to the refrigerator and takes out the only wine there, a 2005 Riesling. Crossing the cluttered floor again to the drawers, she asks, "Corkscrew?"

"Top drawer in the knife section."

Connie then goes to the cups and glasses cabinet in the kitchen to retrieve two wine glasses. "Did you want yours?"

"I'll wait until dinner. Thanks." Mike leans over to steal a quick kiss as Connie passes by. "Dinner should be ready in the next half hour."

"OK. Don't hurry on my account. It does smell delicious though."

Connie puts down the wine and glasses on the small dining table and proceeds to remove the cork to air the wine. Connie has rarely spent time on her own in Mike's living room. When she would wake up in the mornings before Mike, she would head straight to the kitchen. The first time she sat on the couch by herself was only two weeks ago when they came back from working out and Mike left her alone for all of two minutes while he got her some juice.

_Was it only two weeks ago that we started really planning to do stuff together? Can't be. Ummm, yeah. You've only been sleeping with him for about six weeks, on and off for the first four, since you were both swamped with work. Your relationship had a sudden acceleration about two weeks ago when you started making out with him in his office late on a Friday night and then when his aunt died soon after, it just compounded from there. Seems longer than that? That's because you've been more than just colleagues for a few months now. Oh._

Connie decides to look around the living room to keep herself from thinking that she's just jumped into this relationship with Mike head first without thinking it through. There's the TV and stereo cabinet and the leather couch that they had used just last night. Then there's the two bookshelves bracketing the TV and stereo stand that contained his collection of reading for pleasure books as well as his CD/DVD collection. Connie guessed that his law books were either all at the office either at work or at home. Something that strikes Connie as odd is that Mike has no framed photos anywhere. She understood why he wouldn't have pictures of his parents, but what about his aunt?

Figuring that the wine has aired sufficiently, Connie pours herself a glass and looks for something on Mike's bookshelf to read. She didn't bother trying to figure out the TV and stereo system, and besides she likes the jazz that Mike is playing. As expected, there are a few baseball books on the shelves. Connie is surprised to find Dante, F. Scott Fitzgerald, D.H. Laurence, Hemingway, Nietzsche, Kafka, as well as Liberty, Equality, Fraternity by James FitzJames Stephen and On Liberty by John Stuart Mill. Having a BA in Political Science meant that Connie had studied the last two extensively. She doesn't know what Mike's undergrad major is but with the items on the shelves, it makes for great discussions, so she pulls out On Liberty to get a refresher.

Connie got through about a chapter and a half when Mike finally makes an appearance in the living room. It's pretty obvious that he's been cooking.

"Sorry, this is later than I expected. Dinner is ready, but I want to change first. It's been a while since I last cooked and you can tell by the stains on this shirt." Mike pulls at the shirt as if to show Connie the evidence.

Connie takes the receipt from the spa out of her pants pocket and uses it as a bookmark. She then gets up and says, "Why don't I set the table while you do that? It's the least I can do since you made all this effort. It smells delicious. It's Thai, right?"

"Yes, how did you know?" asks Mike.

"The lemongrass gave it away." Connie smiles.

Mike heads to the bedroom to change and Connie pours Mike's wine before heading to the kitchen to get china and utensils. The kitchen though still not back to it's usual state of tidiness is at least picked up. The floor is now clear and you can actually see counter space again.

Connie doesn't see the finished dishes immediately, but there is a pot steaming on the stove. Connie looks in and sees some kind of soup. That's when she notices that the oven is at two hundred degrees Fahrenheit. _He must be keeping it warm in the oven_. Connie's curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the oven door only to find covered dishes inside.

Not wanting to disturb it more, Connie gets out two dinner plates, two soup bowls, two sets of utensils and two water glasses in case some combination was too fiery. It takes her a little bit to find the place mats. She takes all of this into the dining table and sets it up for two. She then goes back into the kitchen to find a water jug, fills it up and takes it to the table as well.

Connie is pouring the water into the glasses when Mike finally makes an appearance. He has a new shirt on and it appears he took the time to comb his hair.

"I'm at least presentable again. You look nice and relaxed." Mike finally noticing Connie's current demeanor. "Did you have a good appointment?"

"Very nice," says Connie remembering her afternoon. "I even fell asleep during my facial, which I never do."

"Why don't you sit down and I'll bring out the first course?" asks Mike.

Connie gets her wine from the coffee table and takes the seat closer to the wall so that Mike can access the kitchen more easily. Mike brings out the pot that was steaming on the stove and ladles some out for each of their bowls before putting it on a pot stand he brought from the kitchen with him.

"What's this?" asks Connie.

"Tom Yum soup with chicken," says Mike.

Connie takes a spoonful and blows on it gently to cool it down before drinking it. "Very nice. I can taste the hint of lemongrass. If this is an example of how well you cook, you may be doing it way more often from now on. I'd gladly do the clean up in exchange."

"I'd said I'd make a believer out of you, and I'd gladly cook for you whenever I have some free time," says Mike matter-of-factly.

"I'd like that." Connie smiles at Mike.

"What were you reading when I came into the living room?" asks Mike curious as the what interested Connie so much. "You were fairly engrossed. I didn't think I had that good a book collection."

"On Liberty," says Connie. "I studied it extensively during my undergrad being a Poli Sci major. It has always engrossed me. I was actually surprised to see it on your reading shelf."

"I've always been interested in political science though I never studied it in college," says Mike. "I went on a political philosophy binge about ten years ago. I used to have the whole gamut, but had to clear out everything other than my two favorites which you see there for new books."

"Did you know that John Stuart Mills's wife, Harriet Taylor Mill, was a suffragette who reinforced his advocacy of women's rights?" asks Connie.

"Yes, he cites her influence in On Liberty," says Mike. "I agree with him 100% with respect to the fact that women are equal to men and that by allowing women to vote and to freely learn, they could connect better on an intellectual level with their husbands, thus improve relations. He was considered quite radical for his time."

"I see that you've not only read On Liberty, but also his essay, The Subjection of Women," says Connie.

"Yes, I'm a great fan of Mill." Mike smiles and wonders what Connie thinks of the other political philosophy book on his shelf. Seeing that Connie has also finished her soup, he asks, "Shall I bring out the rest of the dinner?"

"Yes, please." Connie watches Mike retreat into the kitchen. _Now I understand why he is so equal opportunity when it comes to our relationship._

Mike brings the rest of the food on a tray because it's the only way he can carry all of it at once. After placing each of the dishes on pot stands, he proceeds to uncover them one by one. Connie is surprised by the amount of food on the table.

"I hope that you don't expect me to eat half of the food here?" says Connie more like a fact than a question.

"No, Thai food makes for good leftovers," says Mike smiling. "I'll send some home with you if you'd like."

"If the food is half as good as the soup, I'll take whatever leftovers you're willing to give up." Connie's eyes glow at the thought of leftovers of this dinner.

"You like my cooking that much?" Mike is well-pleased by Connie's compliments.

"The soup was restaurant quality," says Connie. "I would be stupid not to want more of it. Who wants take out when you cook like this?"

"So what would you like to try first?" asks Mike.

"What are each of these dishes?" asks Connie.

"The beef dish is beef with lemongrass," says Mike pointing to the beef dish. "The chicken dish is green curry chicken. The noodle dish is pad Thai and this is just steamed rice. Which would you like to try first?"

"You know you don't have to serve me this dinner after all the cooking you did," says Connie.

"As you wish." Mike hands Connie a serving spoon before picking up another one to spoon some food out.

As Connie is spooning out her food, she asks, "I also saw Liberty, Equality and Fraternity which is essentially anti-Mill, specifically anti-On Liberty on your bookshelf. What possessed you to keep that one with On Liberty?"

"I find that Liberty, Equality and Fraternity by being anti-On Liberty gives me a more balanced view of the whole idea of liberty. I keep both to remind me that liberty can be defined in multiple ways."

"That's a view that I don't necessarily agree with. I'm also surprised not to see John Locke."

Mike and Connie continue to debate political philosophies including why he didn't keep any Locke on his shelf, their mutual admiration of Mill and their discordance on Stephens throughout the entire meal, discovering yet another subject matter that they can spend hours debating.

After their plates have been empty for about a half hour and their debate coming to a logical conclusion for the time, Mike asks, "Did you want dessert now?"

"There's dessert?" Connie is incredulous.

"Of course," says Mike. "What meal is complete without dessert?"

"Well, I'm stuffed, so maybe we could put away the leftovers and clean the kitchen before we have dessert?" asks Connie.

"Connie, I can't let you ruin your new nails scrubbing pots."

"After cooking this feast, you have to let me do something to contribute?" Connie is not going to let Mike do all this work on his own.

"Why don't you put the leftovers away and I'll clean the kitchen?" offers Mike. "I've had the pots soaking since 6:45, I'll just stick them into the dishwasher after rinsing them."

"OK. What leftover containers do you have?" asks Connie.

Mike rummages through one of his kitchen cabinets, comes up with five non-matching containers and hands them to Connie. Mike then rinses the pots and pans and sticks them into the dishwasher. When Connie comes back into the kitchen, with the leftovers, she asks, "Fridge or freezer."

"Freezer since we're not here to eat it tomorrow night and then it's the start of the week and we never know. What did you want to take home?" asks Mike.

"I'll take the Pad Thai and Beef, if you don't mind," says Connie.

"Of course not," replies Mike. "Why don't you take the rice then? It doesn't tend to freeze well."

"OK," say Connie. She wasn't going to say no to anything. "I'll stick those in the fridge. I intend to eat one of them on Monday night. Of course, you are welcome to join me." Connie then walks back into the dining table and gets the dishes.

"I thought you didn't want us to spend all of our time together?" Mike calls out.

When she returns with the dirty dishes, Connie says, "The fastest way to a girl's heart is through her stomach."

Connie puts them on the counter beside the sink and asks, "Do you have a cloth to wipe the table?"

Mike hands one to Connie and says, "Here you go. So are you saying that every time we eat food that I cook we will be spending time together?"

"That is a distinct possibility," says Connie before she goes back to wipe the dining table.

Once they've cleaned the kitchen and table thoroughly, Connie then goes into the bedroom to fold the load that she just took out.

When she has folded about half the laundry, Mike comes in with her wine. He had finished his half glass before halfway through dinner as he knew he had to drive later. He puts the wine glass down quietly on top of the dresser and wraps his arms around Connie from behind and starts to kiss her neck. "So ... this is ... what ... you ... were ... up to?"

Connie drops the piece she was folding and turns around in Mike's arms, gives him a quick kiss before holding him at arms length. "I thought we were going to wait until tomorrow night to see the benefits of the spa."

Mike attempts to gain access to her neck and says, "I wouldn't mind opening my present early."

Connie puts her finger to Mike's nose and says, "No."

"Please?" Mike gives his best puppy dog face.

"Patience is a virtue." Connie smiles.

Mike sighs and says, "Up for dessert then?"

"Why don't you get dessert on the table while I finish folding the laundry and putting it away and I'll be right out. Hmmm?" Connie cajols Mike.

"All right," says Mike resigned. "Should I bring your wine out to the table or did you want it?"

"Leave it," says Connie. "I'll bring it out."

When Connie returns to the dining room, Mike is just placing the dessert on the table. It's a yellowish orange pudding.

"What is it?" asks Connie.

"Mango pudding," says Mike. "I got the recipe from Aunt Millie last night. She says hi by the way. Dig in."

Connie takes a spoonful. "This is very rich."

"It's the coconut milk," says Mike.

"That nicely enhances the mango," says Connie. "I've always liked Mango Lassies at Indian restaurants, this is better though."

"I have a recipe for Mango Lassi, but Indian is an all day cooking adventure, since simmering is something that you do a lot of in Indian cooking," says Mike. "Since I only had about three hours of cooking time, I opted to go with Thai."

"Mike, you are welcome to cook any time. This was absolutely delicious. However, it's now 10:30 and if you're not too intoxicated to drive ..."

"I made sure I only had half a glass at the beginning of dinner," says Mike. "I've metabolized the alcohol. So whenever you're ready, we can go."

"I'll just get my suitcase from the bedroom," says Connie.

Mike clears the dessert dishes from the dining table. The dishwasher is still running so these will have to wait until later.

Connie emerges from the bedroom with her rolling suitcase. She picks up her purse at the front hall and gets her coat from the closet. Mike takes Connie's leftovers from the fridge and puts them in a plastic grocery bag. He then goes and gets his coat from the hook by the front door and shrugs it on.

"If you want to take the leftovers, I'll take the suitcase." They swap stuff and head out the door.

When Mike stops in front of Connie's building, Connie turns to Mike and says, "Thank you so much for cooking dinner. I'm glad we spent time together after my spa appointment. It was so much better than just heading directly home. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I love you." Connie leans in to give Mike a quick kiss but Mike would have none of it and soon they are making out in front of Connie's building. Mike finally reluctantly breaks it off and says, "You'd better go before we make a spectacle." It's a good thing it's dark because there's a lump in Mike's pants that will have to be taken care of later.

Connie takes care not to look at Mike's lips, afraid that she will want to kiss them again. "Good night. I'll see you at eleven." Connie starts to get out of the car.

Mike glances at only the back of Connie's head. "I'll bring a brunch to go. See you then. I love you, too."

Connie takes her suitcase out of the back seat as well as the leftovers. Mike waits until Connie has gotten through the two entrance doors of the apartment building before driving off. It was going to be a long, lonely night.

Mike was fortunate to find a parking spot near to Connie's building on Sunday at eleven in the morning. He had spent a large part of the night tossing and turning, so at one in the morning, he had gotten up to pack. After all, if he didn't fall asleep until after two, then he would likely get up closer to ten, which was exactly what had happened.

Connie buzzes him up immediately and when he gets to her apartment door, she calls out to give her a minute. When she finally opens the door, Connie says, "Sorry, I was in the middle of putting on mascara. I need another five and I'll be ready." Connie is in a form fitting red sweater that accentuates every curve she has and jeans.

Mike's eyes nearly bug out. "This is the casual outfit you picked?"

"Why? What's wrong?" asks Connie worried.

"Absolutely nothing, except that now all I want to do is take it off you." Mike sighs. "It's going to be a long afternoon."

Connie rolls her eyes. "Why don't you take my suitcase from the bedroom? It's packed and ready. My briefcase is right beside it, if you want to take that, too."

"Sure," says Mike as he heads into Connie's bedroom and takes out a black suitcase, the size of a carry-on as well as Connie's briefcase. "Let me put them in the car while you finish getting ready. I parked almost at your front door."

Connie goes to her purse on the front hall table and takes out the keys she's been contemplating giving him. "Look, here are keys to my apartment, I was planning to give them to you this evening anyway. This way, I don't have to buzz you in again."

Mike looks at the keys Connie is holding out for him. Before taking them, he says, "Only if you're sure."

Looking Mike straight in the eye, Connie says, "I am."

Normally, Mike or Connie would lean in for a kiss at this juncture, but the atmosphere is charged and neither wants to be late for whatever Mike has planned.

Taking the keys from Connie's hands, Mike holds the contact between them longer than necessary before breaking it off and leaving the apartment

It takes about thirty seconds after the door closes behind Mike before Connie goes back to finishing her make up.

Mike takes the opportunity to pick up some food and coffees at the coffee shop at the corner. Because he had woken late, he hasn't had the opportunity and he did offer to bring food with him. He was fortunate that there wasn't a huge line up. Mike puts his purchases into the car before going back up to Connie's. When Mike comes back, Connie is already in her coat and has her hat on, just doing her usual last minute check of the apartment.

"If I haven't said it before, you look stunning," says Mike. "Makes me feel like a slob."

Connie can only see a small portion of the sweater he's wearing underneath his overcoat and it looks nice. "I doubt you look like a slob. I'm ready to go."

Mike opens the door and as Connie walks past him, her intoxicating perfume surrounds him. Mike closes his eyes to take a deep breath. _It's going to be a long afternoon._

As they are walking to the elevator hand in hand, Mike says "Did you sleep well?"

"No," confesses Connie. "I ended up packing at one in the morning because I couldn't sleep. You?"

"I think we might have been packing at the same time," says Mike. "I didn't fall asleep until two. We really need to stop making out before we go our separate ways. It just makes for a long night."

The elevator arrives and they join two other people in the elevator, so their conversation ceases for the time being.

Once they are outside walking to the car, Connie resumes the conversation. "I fell asleep finally around 3:15. That's why I wasn't completely ready when you got here, I slept through my first alarm at 8:30."

"I don't think we'll have a problem tonight."

Mike opens the door for Connie to get in before going to the other side to get in. There is a cup of steaming coffee in the cup holder. Mike buckles up and hands her a bag of food before turning the ignition. After he gets into traffic, Connie finally asks, "Where are we going?"

"Connecticut."

"What are we doing in Connecticut? I hope we aren't going to see your mother."

"Perish the thought. You'll see."

* * *

**A/N2:** So where in Connecticut is Mike taking Connie? Care to hazard a guess? This might actually be the first chapter cliffhanger I've ever done. Dun, dun, dun! :) As always, please let me know what you think!


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** We're finally at the Valentine's Day that Mike planned out for them. It's a nice long chapter. I hope you find it as romantic as Connie does. Thanks very much to those kind folks who reviewed the last chapter. It was much loved. We reached a milestone of 50 reviews. *Happy Dance* Much thanks goes to my beta, Tripp3235, who nudged this chapter here and there to make it walk in a straight line.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Somewhere on the road in Connecticut, Sunday, February 14**

Soon they are out of New York City. After about an hour, they are finally in Connecticut. Their conversation had essentially ceased with the consumption of food and coffee. Mike is just enjoying the time with Connie and thinking over his plans for the day. Connie is just enjoying the drive with Mike. After their trip out to the Pacific Ocean in Oregon, Connie has learned to enjoy long drives with Mike. As they pass the city of Danbury, Connie asks, "How much further?"

"About forty-five minutes or so," says Mike. "Antsy?"

"A little," says Connie. "I guess the anticipation is killing me."

"We'll be there soon enough," says Mike. "Didn't you ever drive to Cornell?"

"I mostly took the bus and slept," says, Connie looking around at the countryside. "It's not the same."

"Didn't your parents drive you up even the first time?" asks Mike as he takes a quick look at Connie.

"My Dad doesn't like highway driving and my Mom never learned, which is why I'd never driven through mountainous terrain before Oregon," says Connie.

"You know we should try a cross country trip some day," says Mike. "I've always wanted to see other parts of the country and a drive could be a nice way to do it."

Mike and Connie continue to discuss possible destinations for a cross-country trip until they arrive at their current destination. "Why are we at a farm?"

"We're going on a sleigh ride," says Mike.

"I've never done that before," says Connie. She's sort of stunned by this being the outdoor event. Certainly, she would have never guessed.

"I thought it would be romantic." With that, they exit the car and head to the building where they check in. Seems like other couples were here for the same thing as the parking lot was full of cars from various states in the region.

Once they are directed to the proper sleigh and introduce themselves to the driver, Connie gets in before Mike. Once they are secure under their blankets, Connie is given her red rose and they their champagne before driving off.

Ten minutes in, Connie says, "Where did you come up with this idea? I love it."

"Well, I had originally thought of doing a carriage ride in Central Park, but thought we'd not get enough privacy," says Mike. "I'm glad you like it. I hope you like the rest of the day."

"What else are we doing today?" asks Connie. "Surely, you can share that with me now."

"After the ride, we are suppose to get some time to warm up in a private setting with hor d'oeuvres," says Mike reciting what he remembers reading on the Internet. "Then we're going to check-in at a bed and breakfast near Stamford before going to dinner. The bed and breakfast serves breakfast as early as six, so we should have plenty of time to get to court for ten tomorrow. We can even go over the case on our drive back."

"You really planned this out in just two weeks," says Connie genuinely surprised.

Mike looks into Connie's eyes and says, "I really wanted to impress upon you that you're worth the effort."

"I love you." Connie leans in for a kiss and they don't separate for nearly five minutes. Fortunately, they are under blankets, the driver is facing the other way and there aren't any other sleighs within visual range.

"I don't think I can wait until after dinner tonight," says Mike, his voice somewhat husky.

"You did mention that we're checking in to a bed and breakfast before going to dinner. Maybe we'll have some time then."

"I like how you think." Mike then leans in for another kiss and this one lasts nearly as long. They separate when they hear another sleigh. After she wipes off her lipstick with a wet wipe, Connie hands Mike a wet wipe and he cleans off the signs of Connie from his face. As he's doing that, Connie puts new lipstick on. Not willing to risk being caught again, Mike puts an arm around Connie's shoulder and she leans in and rests her head on his shoulder. This is the most secure that Connie's felt in a long time. _If only this could last forever._

* * *

By the time the sleigh ride ends, both their noses are red from the cold and they are ready to warm up. They are taken to a small sitting room with a wood fireplace that someone has already started a fire in. The remainder of their champagne is cooling in an ice bucket. As they are warming by the fire, their driver says on his way out, "Thank you for participating in our Valentine's weekend sleigh ride. Come again, anytime. Donna will be by with the food shortly."

Mike shakes the driver's hand and slips him a gratuity. "Thank you for driving us."

Just as Mike and Connie are warm enough to take off their coats, a woman, presumably Donna, comes in with a tray of hor d'oeuvres and asks, "Would you two like some hot chocolate? I find that it hits the spot after one of those sleigh rides on a cold day such as this."

Mike looks at Connie and says, "That would be wonderful. Thank you."

"I'll be right back," says Donna before she closes the door behind her.

"Did you have fun?" asks Mike.

"Are you kidding? I want to do this again in the future. Thank you so much for arranging this." Connie smiles at Mike.

"You're very welcome," says Mike grinning at the fact that Connie is happy with his choices. "I had a fun time, too."

"Where are we staying in Stamford?" asks Connie.

"It's a B&B I found on the Internet with excellent reviews from three different sources," says Mike. "I got us a room with an ensuite bath, a fireplace and a balcony, not that you could use the balcony right now, but it was listed as a feature."

"Sounds romantic," says Connie as she tries to imagine the BB.

"That's the idea," says Mike warming his hands by the fireplace. His city gloves were no match for the country winter.

Just then Donna returns with a tray containing two steaming cups of hot chocolate. Miniature marshmallows are in a dish with a spoon as well as a small dish containing whipped cream.

"Here you are," says Donna with a flourish.

Mike speaks up, "Donna, how long do we have this room for?"

"Until we close at five," says Donna.

"If we're done before that?" asks Mike.

"Just come by the front to let us know you're done," says Donna. "If you need anything else, just dial 0 on the phone here and it will ring the front."

"Thank you," says Mike.

Donna nods and leaves them to continue warming up.

* * *

The drive to Stamford was uneventful. With Mike driving, Connie dozes a little. She wakes up just before they get into Stamford. _Why is it that I can't sleep in my own bed when Mike isn't around and have no trouble sleeping when he is at the wheel?_

"Sorry about that." Connie is apologetic.

"Don't be," says Mike. "I take it as a compliment that you feel relaxed enough when I'm driving to sleep." Mike smiles to reassure her.

"Still it's impolite," says Connie.

"I'm sure that you'll find someway to make it up to me later." Mike winks at her.

"Where are we?" asks Connie still trying to get her orientation.

"We're just outside of Stamford," says Mike. "We should be at our destination in about ten minutes."

"Where are we going to dinner?" asks Connie as she rubs her eyes a tad.

"It's a restaurant called Amelia's," says Mike. "According to directions it's just down the road from the where we're staying. I've read a number of reviews on it in a few Connecticut papers and they all had positive words to say about it. Apparently, a few of them consider it to be a five star restaurant. However, since I only arranged this two weeks ago, our dinner won't be until 8:00. If you need something to tied you over until then, we can check with the BB to see what we can get or we can pick up something on the way in."

"I should be fine," says Connie. "I still can't believe that you were able to put all this together in two weeks."

"I wanted to make our first Valentine's Day something to remember in the years ahead," says Mike as he signals to pass a slower moving vehicle.

"In one mile, take Exit 7 on right to Baltic St," the GPS interrupts.

"Well, there is no doubt that I appreciate the effort," says Connie as she stretches a little.

"I just hope that you enjoy the rest of the day as much as you have so far," says Mike.

"I'm sure I will," says Connie. "By the way, I looked at my calendar last night. I'm free the weekend of March 20-21, if you wanted to go see your mother then?"

"In two hundred yards, take Exit 7 on right to Baltic St," drones the GPS.

"I should be free," says Mike. "From November to March, my weekends are generally free."

"Let me guess," says Connie. "April to October is baseball season isn't it?"

"Take Exit 7 on right to Baltic St," insists the GPS.

"You know me well," says Mike with a smile. "Though I only go to the occasional game, I do like to keep weekends open for the games I want to see. You know that the Yank's first weekend home game this season is April 17 against the Rangers. Did you want to go with me?"

"Only if you're willing to explain the game to me," says Mike. "You know the men in my family are diehard Mets fans and they have given up trying to explain it, but I'm willing to convert to the dark side for you."

"The Yankees are not the dark side," Mike is serious when he says this. "They won the World Series last year. You also know I go to Mets games on occasion."

"Yes, when the San Francisco Giants are in town and you cheer for them," says Connie as she recalls a conversation she had with him last year.

"They are my boyhood team," says Mike. "I can't give up on them."

"What do you do, when the Giants play the Yankees? Who do you cheer for then?" asks Connie.

"The Giants are in a different league than the Yankees and the only time they could play one another is during interleague play which only happens in May and June," explains Mike. "With all the different teams around, the last time they played one another was in June 2007 in San Francisco. Before that was in the late nineties and I did go and cheered for the Giants."

"How come the Mets play the Yankees every year? Aren't they in different leagues, too?" asks Connie genuinely curious.

"Yes, they are," says Mike. "But because they are considered geographic rivals, they play six games every year against one another. How did you know the Mets play the Yankees every year?"

"Because every year my brothers like to take my father to one game when they are playing at Shea Stadium and I get to hear about it every year," says Connie as she rolls her eyes again. "I really got to hear about it from my mother the year they played on Father's Day and they went. For the rest of the season, all I heard was that there was no point in celebrating Father's Day if all the fathers were at the Mets game."

"Will they hate me if I lure you to the dark side?" asks Mike, not wanting to be hated by his possible future-in-laws before he has even met them.

"They might, but I don't care," says Connie non-chalantly.

"In two hundred yards, turn left on Maplegrove Lane," says the GPS.

"Look, they won't hate you forever," Connie continues. "It may take a grandchild to solve that problem. I'm just kidding."

"Maybe you might not want to mention that I'm a Yankee's fan?" asks Mike.

"Too late," says Connie. "I already told my sister so I'm sure that they already know by now."

"Turn left on Maplegrove Lane," says the GPS.

"What exactly did you tell your sister about me?" asks Mike as he takes a quick glance at Connie before turning left.

"That you love me very much." Connie bats her eyelashes to try to deflect Mike from questioning her further.

"Is that all you told her?" asks Mike after he makes the turn successfully.

"That I love you very much and that we were in it for the long haul."

"You aren't going to tell me more are you?"

"No." Connie smiles to ease the answer.

"Destination on left," says the GPS as the car stops at a massive, gorgeous eighteenth century house.

"Well, we're here. Let's go check in."

* * *

Connie is unpacking while Mike is handling details with the owner. The room they are in is a twenty by twenty room with a massive four poster bed against one wall, a small sitting area set up in front of a fireplace that's already lit against the opposite wall, and a small dining area with a table, a small refrigerator and a microwave as well as a small television against the far corner on the same side as the fireplace. A wardrobe and a chest of drawers stand on the side of the wall by the entrance. There is a closed door on the far wall that leads to the balcony. An open door leading to the ensuite is against the same wall as the bed. There are large curtained windows against two of the four walls.

Connie wonders how much Mike is spending on this day. The Oregon weekend had been expensive because of the last minute flights and Mike seems to have spared no expense today as well. Coming from a modest immigrant family who's first generation children have been successful due to hard work and being frugal, it rails against her economic sensibilities. _We're going to have to talk about this, but not tonight. I guess this is what Rosa means by economic compatibility._

Connie takes out her wrapped gift for Mike and puts it on the bed. It's a signed baseball by the Giants' Gary Matthews, who apparently was the National League's rookie of the year in 1973. It had come with a certificate of authenticity. She had bought it off the Internet after wracking her brain for something special. The notice had finally arrived in her mailbox on Monday. She had pick it up from the postal outlet at her local drugstore on Thursday when she went to get her prescription filled.

Just as she's putting her suitcase along with her briefcase beside the wardrobe, Mike returns from his dealings with the owner with a fruit and cheese plate and a couple of bottles of water.

"I thought this would be nice to tie us over," says Mike, indicating the bounty he has brought.

"That looks nice," says Connie. "I hope you don't mind that I unpacked for you since you were dealing with the owner."

Mike puts the plate and bottles of water on the coffee table, before saying. "I don't mind at all. Thank you. Where did you put my briefcase?"

"Beside the dresser," says Connie pointing to it.

Mike walks over and takes out his card and gift for Connie. "Why don't we sit down and relax for a moment? We have a couple of hours before we have to get ready for dinner."

"What's that in your hand?" asks Connie.

"A little something to commemorate our first Valentine's Day," says Mike with a smug smile on his face.

"I have a little something for you, too." Connie walks over to the bed to retrieve her card and gift.

Mike sits down on the sofa first placing his card and gift on the coffee table. Connie joins him shortly with her card and gift for him. Mike removes the plastic wrap from the fruit and cheese plate and takes a strawberry and offers to feed it to Connie. Connie takes a bite and makes an ummmm sound. After swallowing, she says, "Where did they find such luscious strawberries in February? It's like those that you pick at farms in the summer."

"The owner mentioned that they have a greenhouse in the back," says Mike. "Perhaps she grows them herself?"

"That would explain it," says Connie as she takes another bite.

"I ordered our breakfast to be eaten here tomorrow morning at six," says Mike. "I wish that we could have stayed later."

"It's OK," says Connie. "We have court at ten tomorrow. I didn't expect that we would have left New York City for the day never mind New York State, so that's fine."

Mike leans back on the sofa and groans, "Can we not talk about work right now?"

Connie reaches for the card and gift she has for Mike. "Here. Why don't you open your card and gift?"

Mike takes the card from Connie and opens it. His favorite part of the card is where Connie signed, "Love always, Connie." Mike traces the signature a few times before saying, "Thank you."

"Now open your gift." Connie hands him the square box that she wrapped in gold foil wrap.

Mike pulls at the tape and the wrap falls off revealing the signed baseball. When Mike notices the signature, he says, "How did you know he was one of my favorite players as a kid? I was so upset when he was traded to the Braves in 1977."

"I took an educated guess. I figured that since he played for the Giants in the mid-seventies as a rookie, that he might have been a favorite of yours. I know it's not something terribly romantic, but I figured that you'd like it."

"I love it. Thank you." Mike leans in to give Connie a quick kiss. He wanted to give her more, but first he wanted her to open her gift and card from him.

Mike hands Connie his card and says, "Here."

The card is addressed to "My Darling Consuela." Connie smiles at the address and thinks it to be sweet. Inside the card is one of those that just expounds on the virtues of the sweetheart receiving the card, but it's the inscription that catches Connie's eye, "This card doesn't even come near to saying what you are to me. Know that you are special to me in every way. All my love, Mike."

"Oh, Mike." Connie is moved by what Mike expresses here.

"Now open your gift." Mike hands Connie the box that Mike got he jewelry store to wrap.

Connie opens removes the wrap and sees a jewelry box and says, "Is this why you lured me to the jewelry store on Friday night?"

"Partially. Open it." Mike urges.

Connie opens it and sees the diamond pendant she tried on the other night. She remembers the price of this piece which is in the four figures. "This is too much, Mike, especially with everything else today."

"Do you like it?" asks Mike.

"Of course," says Connie. "It's exquisite."

Mike looks into Connie's eyes and says, "If you like it, then it is worth everything. Look Connie, I make a decent living, I save for retirement and I live within my means. If I want to show the person I love most in the world what she means to me, is there a reason I shouldn't spend money as I see fit?"

Connie is relieved to hear that Mike is not going into debt for her."I guess not. It's just that you're spending a lot of money on me in the last ten days."

"I'm trying to show you what you mean to me and I think you're worth all that I'm spending," insists Mike.

"I'm flattered, Mike, and thank you. I do love this pendant. Can you help me put it on?" asks Connie.

"Of course."

Connie hands Mike the pendant and turns around so that he can help her put it on. Once Mike fastens the clasp, Connie turns around and give Mike a kiss which lasts for slightly longer than intended.

When it ends, Mike says, "I love you, Connie, and I don't want you to ever forget it." Mike then sits properly on the sofa and puts an arm around Connie who naturally leans her head against his shoulder.

Once Connie is settled, she says, "I love you, too, and after the last ten days, I'm unlikely to forget how much you love me." Connie looks at the pendant on her neck and says, "This pendant is beautiful. I loved how it looked the first time I put it on."

"I'm glad you like it," says Mike. I thought it looks stunning on you when you tried it on Friday. It was beautiful in the window display when I saw it, but it becomes radiant on you."

Connie lifts her head and looks at Mike. "You know, flattery will get you everywhere." It takes a moment, but when the light dawns in Mike's eyes as to what she means Connie leans toward Mike and kisses him deeply. Soon her hands are running through his hair and his hands are on her back and down her backside.

Mike moves to kissing her jawline and down her neck. In between kisses, he says, "God ... I ... don't ... deserve ... you. ... I ... love you ... so ... much."

"Oh, Mike. I love you, too." This comes out more breathy then intended but it spurs Mike on. Fumbling to find either a zipper or buttons on Connie's sweater, he comes across a button on the shoulder and in his haste, he nearly takes the button off. Fortunately the button was secured more tightly and Mike manages to unbutton it before it comes off.

Once the button obstacle has been overcome, Mike removes the rest of Connie's clothing and half of his own and Mike's magical tongue brings Connie to dizzying heights.

When Connie comes down from her high, Mike asks, "How was that?"

"As if you couldn't tell, it was amazing." Connie kisses Mike and says in a wicked tone, "Now it's your turn."

Connie gets Mike's undershirt off before having him lie down on the rug. She begins by taking a strawberry in her mouth and feeding it to Mike this way and they share the strawberry and a kiss. Connie then moves to kiss Mike's chest while her right hand wanders below the waist but above the boxers to caress him gently. Mike is already eager and Connie wants it to last a bit. This time it's Connie mouth that brings Mike to ecstasy.

Connie then crawls up to Mike's arms and nestles in the crook while Mike recovers. Mike utterly spent and hugs Connie almost haphazardly. Not having to clean up, Mike just relaxes and manages to kiss Connie and say, "Best Valentine's Day gift ever," before he nuzzles Connie a bit and falls asleep. Connie soon follows. They wake to beeping from Mike's Blackberry on the nightstand by the one of the windows. It's dark outside and when they finally get to the alarm, the time is 6:45.

Connie is puzzled. "Why did your Blackberry have an alarm set for this time? I'm glad it did, but why?"

Mike is a little sheepish. "I figured that since we were arriving at the BB around four and dinner wasn't around eight that we would likely end up having sex and after the night I had, it was likely I would fall asleep afterward. I really didn't want us to have to scramble or miss dinner."

They are both still naked. The curtains are open but the only light in the room is from the dying embers in the fireplace and the Blackberry and they can see some of the town before them. Mike puts down the Blackberry and by what light he has, with her back to him, he encircles Connie's waist with his arms and hugs her to him. He breathes in the smell of Connie's shampoo as well as that of her fading perfume and he cannot resist kissing her neck just once. "I love you so much. I wish that we could stay here forever."

Connie turns in his arms to face him and says, "I love you so much, too," before kissing him. The kiss deepens quickly. Connie runs her tongue along Mike's lower lip and that just eggs him on. Soon their tongues are battling for dominance. After a few minutes of this, Mike, with determination, picks Connie up and puts her gently on the bed. Mike then climbs on after her. Mike looks into Connie's eyes intently before giving her a kiss that he hopes will imbue all the feelings he has for her. He then trails his kisses down her neck and Connie moans at the eager but yet gentle kisses. Their lovemaking begins apace and eventually reaches a mutually satisfying conclusion.

When their breathing returns to normal, Mike looks at the alarm clock on the night table, kisses Connie on the cheek and says, "I think we still have forty minutes before we'll be late for our reservation. So much for not rushing to get ready."

"Let me shower first?" asks Connie with a smile that Mike can't resist. "I need to dress and get make up on. You only need to get dressed."

"All right, but the payment is a kiss in advance."

Connie pulls Mike down to her and gives him a nice long kiss that would have developed into something more if they didn't just finish having sex. "Is that a good enough payment?"

"Oh yeah!" Mike is grinning from ear to ear and gets off of Connie, who heads to the bathroom. "Throw me a towel?" Mike calls after her.

Mike can hear the shower start up and while he's looking out the window thinking about his Valentine's Day so far, a towel lands on his head and he can hear the door to the bathroom closing quickly.

* * *

**A/N2:** So was the sleigh ride more romantic than a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park? Isn't the bed and breakfast just heavenly? I think B&Bs are an artform. Done right and it's cozier than a hotel room and just as private. Next part will be the dinner. Will it be as romantic as Mike is hoping it will be? As usual, please let me know what you think. I always want to hear your thoughts. Constructive criticism most welcome!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Sorry this is a little late in getting published. Real life made an intrusion for both me and my beta. Regardless, here it is the Valentine's Day dinner. It just took 18 chapters and who knows how many words to get here. I struggled more than usual to write this chapter. Took about ten hours to come up with the first draft. Normally, something like this would take four tops. I hope it came out smoothly in the end. This is the last chapter before a whole slew of episodes start to make their appearance in the chapters as the first bit of the trial in Brilliant Disguise starts the day after this dinner. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. Please keep them coming. Many thanks to my Beta, Tripp3235, who really made an effort to review it a second time. Your effort is greatly appreciated. :)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Amelia's Restaurant, Stamford, Connecticut, Sunday, February 14**

Mike showers quickly after Connie is done, so that she can use the mirror in the bathroom to do her make up. When Mike sees Connie in her red dress and wearing the diamond pendant, they nearly don't make it to dinner. Connie has to promise to let him stay over on Monday night.

They are finally ready to go downstairs at 7:50. Mike brings the car to the front and Connie steps in. In less than two minutes, Mike is parking the car in the lot of Amelia's. Inside they are placed in a private table by the window. Connie notices that her menu has no prices and when she brings it to Mike's attention, he merely smiles. Obviously, this is an expensive dinner._ We'll definitely need to have that money talk at some point. It's not that I don't appreciate everything, but there must be better use for this money._

After their wine arrives, Mike looks at Connie and says, "You've been very quiet since we got here. Is everything all right?"

Not wanting to get into a fight on their first Valentine's Day, Connie smiles and says, "I'm just trying to enjoy the ambiance here. It's not every day that I get to eat at a five-star restaurant."

"Well hopefully, it will live up to its rating. I was just reading an article on tourist destinations the other day. Have you thought of where you'd like to honeymoon?"

"Mike, I think you're jumping the gun again," says Connie as annoyance flickers across her features. _First it was the jewelry store on Friday night and now honeymoon destinations. At this rate, he'll have the whole wedding planned by Luis's birthday party next Saturday. _After a slight pause, Connie continues, "We've just been together long enough to barely exchange keys and keep a few basic things at the other's apartment. Can we please change the topic?"

"Can't a guy ask his sweetheart questions like these on Valentine's Day?" asks Mike with a slight whine in his tone.

"Maybe if the guy and his sweetheart have gone out for longer than six weeks," says Connie with incredulity in her voice. "Normally, at six weeks into a relationship, I've gone on a handful of dates and may not have even slept with the guy and you want me to think about honeymoon destinations?" Connie takes a deep breath to try to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "I really don't want to fight with you on our first Valentine's dinner. I will ask again. Can we please change the topic?"

Mike is about to say something, thinks better of it and after a slight pause says, "I heard from my best friend from college this morning. Jim is coming to the city next week and wants to have dinner and meet you. Would you be up for it?"

"What evening next week?" asks Connie still a little on edge from the previous topic.

Mike pulls out his Blackberry and scrolls through his emails. "He's in town Tuesday to Friday."

"Tuesday is probably best, since I have that Thursday morning breakfast interview."

"I'll let him know." Mike clicks a few buttons before putting it away.

"You've never mentioned Jim before," says Connie. "What does he do?"

"He works for a multinational whose headquarters are in Manhattan," says Mike. "He's the VP of the regional sales office upstate and he comes to the city every quarter for meetings. We usually get together for dinner when he's in town. He was the one that got me drunk after my promotion to EADA."

Connie remembers the only time she ever came in to the office to find Mike nearly incapacitated by a night of carousing and smiles at the recollection. However, Connie doesn't recall Mike mentioning a friend. "Sounds like a long standing friendship."

"We were roommates when I was at Purchase and we'd go bar hopping every Saturday night," says Mike. "He went off to business school in Pennsylvania when I went to law school. I was actually the best man at his wedding fifteen years ago. He's looking forward to meeting you."

"And what exactly have you told him about me?" ask Connie curious.

"That you're smart, beautiful and sexy," says Mike. "He agrees with the beautiful part already."

"Excuse me?" asks Connie wondering how that's possible.

"Remember I was testing out the camera on my latest Blackberry when I got it a couple of months ago?" asks Mike.

"You kept the pictures and sent them to him?" asks Connie incredulous. "Mike! You said that you would erase them after you took them."

"Did I?" teases Mike.

"You did," insists Connie.

"Would you like me to erase them now?" Mike takes out his Blackberry again and Connie reaches for it, but Mike holds it out of her reach with a bit of a smirk on his face.

"Mike!" Connie says between clenched teeth.

"Would it be better if I took some pictures of you now so I have something?" asks Mike in hopes of defusing the situation. "You look so nice tonight. I want to remember it."

Connie's expression softens a little when he puts it that way. "Only if you promise that it doesn't end up as your wallpaper until at least I no longer report to you."

"Done," says Mike without hesitation.

Connie smiles one of her genuine smiles for him. Mike takes a couple of shots before he shows one to her. _I'm having Valentine's dinner with one of the most beautiful women in the world and she loves me._Mike looks at Connie with total adoration and says, "I really love you, you know." Mike puts the phone down and caresses Connie's cheeks.

Connie holds Mike's hand and says, "I really love you, too," before leaning in for a kiss.

They break the kiss when Connie notices the waiter standing patiently with their appetizers: mussels and a shrimp cocktail.

"Sorry," says Connie not quite able to look the waiter in the eye.

Mike mumbles a quick thank you to dismiss the waiter after he places the order in front of them. Since they are sharing both appetizers, Mike takes charge of the utensils that come with the dish and begins to feed Connie her share of the food.

"These mussels are really good. Do you make shellfish?" asks Connie.

"I've attempted it a few times," says Mike. "Would you like me to make some for you?"

"I actually have a really simple recipe that's amazing. Maybe I could make it for us sometime?" Connie smiles at the thought that she might be able to make something for Mike.

"I'd like that." Mike smiles as he feeds Connie another piece of shellfish. The simple act of feeding a beautiful woman who loves him is surprisingly erotic for Mike. He finds that he has trouble concentrating on the task at hand. Connie has to tell him twice that she's good before he stops. Mike smiles sheepishly before consuming the remainder of the food in front of them.

Their salad arrives next and all that Mike remembers of this course is how beautiful Connie is tonight as she smiles at him and Connie smiles a lot as she finds his random ramblings endearing though it does help that the look on Mike's face is that of unabashed love.

Mike finally breaks out of the spell when their dinner arrives. Mike had ordered the New York steak, rare and Connie had ordered the duck. The creations that arrive look exquisite and taste even better.

"Do you care to try the duck?" asks Connie after she had eaten a few bites? "It's very tender and the seasoning is amazing."

"Sure," says Mike. "Want to try the steak?"

Connie nods as she cuts a small piece of duck for Mike.

After chewing and swallowing the duck, Mike says, "Mmmm. I taste sage, rosemary and thyme. If there was parsley, it'd be like that song. I bet that I could make something very much like this."

"I thought I tasted a little nutmeg," says Connie as Mike is cutting a piece of steak for her to try.

"Maybe," says Mike as he feeds Connie a bite of his steak.

"Very tender," says Connie after she swallows the steak. "So tell me a bit more about your friend, Jim. Is he a Yankees fan like you?"

Mike chuckles. "He's the one who turned me into a Yankee's fan. He grew up on Staten Island and his parent still live there, but he wanted to be closer to Purchase in his third year, so he was looking for a roommate and my being new to the college worked out for both of us."

"So it's him I have to blame for you turning me to the dark side?" Connie teases.

"If you must," says Mike before taking another bite of his food.

"You said that you were his best man at his wedding. Is he still married? Does he have any kids?"

"Oh yeah," says Mike after swallowing. "He and Shannon are made for one another. I expect that they'll grow old together. They met in business school. She runs an IT shop with about fifteen employees upstate. They have two kids, a boy and a girl. I think eight and five. What's your sudden interest in Jim?"

"I'm just curious about your friend," says Connie. "I know you hang out with the guys in the office league after the game but you've never mentioned a friend before. Since you see this person more often than your family, I'm just curious what makes him different?"

"We have similar tastes in most things," says Mike. "We both like baseball and the Yankees. We enjoy the same types of movies and music. He's also a lot more outgoing than I am so he's like the big brother I never had. He's my go to guy when I'm not sure about something. We've known each other for a long time and he can read people better than anyone else I know, which is probably why he's my age and been a VP at a multinational for nearly ten years. He warned me about a girl I was going out with in my last year at Purchase that she was just looking for someone to take care of her, that if I didn't watch it, she would be pregnant by the end of the school year and want to get married over the summer. We broke up over something else during spring break and she hooked up with some other guy and exactly as Jim predicted, she got pregnant by this other guy before graduation and they married that summer. I often wish that I met Jim earlier in life, because my high school years might have been a lot more pleasant."

"So am I meeting him so he can read me?" asks Connie only partially teasing.

"No, I'm sure about you," says Mike quickly in order to dispel the notion. "I just want my best friend to meet my best girl." Mike smiles in hopes that it will help him get out of this awkward situation.

"If you say so," says Connie with a smile seemingly not totally convinced.

"Pregnant or not, I'd marry you tomorrow, if you'd have me," says Mike matter-of-factly.

"I know," says Connie as she puts down her knife to put her hand on Mike's and looks him in the eye. Connie continues, "and that's what I love about you."

Mike opens his mouth to reply but thinks better of it and puts food in his mouth instead. The moment broken, Connie goes back to her food. After Mike swallows, he looks up and asks, "Will you ever be able to give me an honest answer?"

"Someday I will," says Connie entirely serious. "I promise."

"Will it be an answer I'll like?" asks Mike unable to resist.

"Well, that entirely depends on you."

As usual, Mike has pushed too far and the rest of dinner is eaten in silence.

* * *

When they get back to their room at the B&B, the chill between them has become glacial. This was most definitely not what Mike had intended for their first Valentines. On the short ride back, neither had said aword. Mike had been silently berating himself on not being able to hold his tongue and Connie had been wondering if he will ever stop pushing. Neither knowing what to do at the moment to make things better.

As Mike is taking off his tie after putting his jacket on the back of a chair, Connie glances at him. _He looks thoroughly miserable. Can't he just enjoy the moment._

When Connie goes into the bathroom to remove her make up and jewelry, Mike makes up his mind to approach her and say something to end the silence. Leaning against the bathroom door frame, Mike looks down to the tiled floor and says, "Connie, I'm sorry for pushing too far, again."

Connie looks at Mike through the mirror as she's taking off an earring and says. "Why is it that you just can't stop? You know I'm not ready. You know that whatever answer I give you now is not an honest one which you deserve, and yet you won't stop. First it was asking about engagement rings on Friday night. Tonight was honeymoon destinations. Will tomorrow be where we're having the reception?" Connie isn't even trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice.

Mike glances at her through the mirror and says, "It's just that I love you so much that I can't help myself."

Connie turns around, faces him and says, "If you love me that much, you should be able to restrain yourself."

"Yes, I know," says Mike feeling the weight of his mistake. "I will stop pushing and let it be."

"I was having a good time at dinner until you persisted." Connie leans against the sink counter and folds her arms in front of her.

Mike gives her a brief glimpse before looking down at the floor tile again unable to look Connie in the eye. "I know. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Seeing that Mike is truly contrite, Connie says "Apology accepted. Come here."

Mike is surprised by the fact that Connie is willing to accept his apology walks into the bathroom towards her. Connie opens her arms, puts them around Mike's neck and pull him towards her while Mike hugs her around the waist.

Connie looks right into Mike's eyes and says, "You know I love you and that I'm committed to you. I'm not leaving you. Let's just enjoy this relationship exactly where it is, right now. OK?"

Mike nods as he can't find the words to express how he feels at the moment, a mixture of relief, joy, love and adoration for the woman in his arms. When he does recover his words, he says as he looks into Connie's eyes, "I want you to know that I love you more than anyone else in this world and I love you more than anyone I have ever loved."

"Oh, Mike." Now it's Connie who can't look Mike in the eye. The love contained in Mike's words is overwhelming her. "I don't know..."

When Connie trails off, Mike says, "You don't have to say anything. I know you love me. I just wanted you to know how much I love you."

Looking at the love in Mike's eyes, Connie leans in and kisses him passionately. At first surprised, by the kiss, Mike recovers quickly and kisses back with equal fervor. They make out in the bathroom for quite a while before Connie breaks it off and says, "It might be more comfortable on the bed or the sofa." When what Connie says finally registers in Mike's brain, he clears his throat before saying, "May I?" while gesturing to carry her some place else.

Connie nods and Mike proceeds to pick her up and take her to the bed where he places her gently down. When Mike tries to straighten up, Connie holds his neck down and kisses him again, so Mike sits down on the edge of the bed and responds to the kiss.

As they are kissing again, Connie sits up so that Mike isn't bent over awkwardly. When Connie breaks the kiss, Mike makes no move to resume it, so Connie takes it as her cue to lead this dance and proceeds to unbutton his shirt slowly between short, quick kisses.

After their previous escapades today, there is no need to hurry this along. When Connie gets to the last button, she pulls the shirt out of his pants and unbutton the sleeves before pulling it off. The undershirt soon follows. As if by design, the wood in the fireplace crackles. Next she gets off the bed to work on his belt and Mike runs his hand through Connie's hair. As she's undoing the belt, she strokes the fabric by his groin and she hears Mike's sharp intake of breath and feels his hands grip her hair more tightly, but nothing more.

Connie then gets Mike to lie down on the bed, so that she can unzip, unbutton and remove his pants once he arches up so that she can slide them from under him. With only his boxers and his socks left, Connie removes the socks first and leave the boxers for the time being. She then motions to Mike to sit up on the bed.

Once he's settled comfortably, Connie then removes her dress in a striptease fashion to reveal the matching bustier that Mike asked for in the meeting request neatly hidden in a backless dress. Mike's eyes bug out and his mouth runs dry simultaneously as he never expected this in a million years. What Mike had thought would be sweet, passionate, loving sex had just taken a turn for the sexy and Mike forces himself to blink a few times to be sure that he's not dreaming this.

Connie gives her best saucy look and asks ever so sweetly, "Do you like what you see?"

Once regains control over his senses which takes almost a minute, he nods and then starts to smile.

Connie then walks over to the bed and climbs up to straddle Mike face-to-face, which is when he figures out that Connie had not been wearing any panties this entire time. Mike's head nearly explodes as he processes this new information. "I - uh - I - uh ..." Connie quiets this with a long, lingering kiss.

When Mike tries to remove any part of this outfit, Connie merely gently slaps his hands away. It takes three slaps before Mike figures out that he is not to remove it at this time. Connie then takes control and the sweet, erotic dance continues until its natural and satisfactory conclusion with Connie lying on top of Mike while straddling him.

They are exhausted physically, emotionally and sexually and fall asleep in this position. They arouse after two in the morning when the fire burns out and the room chills. They had not moved since falling asleep so various parts ache for various reasons. Connie climbs off of Mike who is now lying in a puddle of their lovemaking. Connie quickly throws a couple of small logs onto the burning embers to get the heat up again before heading to the bathroom to wipe, undress and redress in sleepwear. Mike is already there and in the midst of cleaning up himself after having disposed of the condom in the trash. When Mike leaves the bathroom first in search of his boxer and t-shirt, he brings a fresh bath towel with him for the wetspot.

When Connie is dressed and she comes out of the bathroom, Mike is fiddling with his blackberry. When she gives him a look after she's gotten on her side of the bed, he says, "I'm just checking the alarm for 5:40 so that we have enough time to tidy up a bit before our breakfast is served."

"OK," says Connie happy that he's not checking email. "Did you put more wood in the fireplace?"

"I added a few larger logs so that should tie us through until we leave."

"Did you have a good Valentine's day?" asks Connie as she's snuggling against Mike to warm up.

"Better than I should have," says Mike into Connie's hair. "I love you."

"I love you, too," says Connie drowsily. "Good night, Mike."

"Good night, Connie."

Within a minute, they are both asleep again.

* * *

**A/N2:** So they managed to save Valentine's Day after a rocky dinner. I often don't realize how romantic Mike can be until I write it out and then when I read it again later, my heart goes a flutter for Connie. :) So do you think Mike will stop pushing? Is Mike getting Connie to meet Jim so can read her despite what he said? As always, please let me know what you think. Reviews are much loved by this author. Constructive criticism most welcome!


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** I had hoped to have posted earlier this week but I've been sick since Tuesday and now on antibiotics. Hence this post is later than expected. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. Your comments are as always greatly appreciated. Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235. Mega spoilers for Brilliant Disguise.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**The Merton House Bed and Breakfast, Stamford, Connecticut, Monday, February 15**

When the alarm on the Blackberry goes off at 5:40, Connie nudges Mike to snooze it, which he does. When it goes off again after another ten minutes, Mike reluctantly gets up before he turns it off to allow Connie a few more minutes of precious sleep. When there is a knock at the door, Mike has already brushed his teeth and shaved.

After putting the tray of breakfast on the table, Mike pours out a cup of coffee. He sits for ten minutes while he consumes his coffee and checks his Blackberry. No urgent messages so he doesn't bother with the rest of it. When the coffee is done, he reluctantly pours out another cup to bring with him to help wake Connie.

Placing the cup on a coaster from the drawer on the nightstand, Mike sits on the bed and then rubs her shoulder and upper arm to wake her. Mike then leans over and whispers, "Connie, sweetheart. Good morning. Time to get up."

Connie stretches under the comforter and asks, "Good morning. What time is it?"

"Ten after six."

"Don't we have to pack up, check out and leave by seven?" asks Connie with a yawn.

"Yes, but you just worry about being ready to go downstairs by 6:55," says Mike. "I'll take care of the rest."

Connie sits up on the bed and Mike hands her the coffee. "Thanks. What's for breakfast?"

"I got me my usual greasy spoon fare and a strawberry crepe ensemble for you since you seem to order those when we're out."

After taking a sip of the coffee, Connie says, "Mmmm. Sounds good. I loved those strawberries yesterday."

"Did you want to eat or shower first? I think it best that we shower separately since we need to be out of here by seven." Mike smiles at Connie.

"I want to brush my teeth so I'll shower first," says Connie. I can always put my makeup on in the car."

"You don't mind if I eat first while you shower, do you?" ask Mike.

"God, no. We barely have time to get ourselves together and out the door. No need to stand on ceremony." Connie takes another sip of coffee, looks at her watch and says, "I better run to the bathroom." Connie kisses Mike and then says with a smile, "I'll aim to be quick," before she gets out of bed with her coffee and goes to the bathroom.

Mike then turns on the TV and goes to eat his breakfast.

The drive is quicker than expected and they arrive at Connie's apartment just before 8:30. Since traffic was lighter than expected, they had agreed on the drive back to New York that Connie would take her usual subway route, while Mike would drop off their bags at Connie's apartment before dropping off the car near Hogan Place and walking to the courthouse.

* * *

When Mike gets to court at 9:45, Connie is already waiting for him by the doors with a worried look on her face and a file folder under her arm. Obviously, it wasn't urgent since she didn't call him, but something was definitely up.

"What's wrong?" asks Mike. "You look worried."

"Stacey Tipton left a message on my voicemail over the weekend," says Connie. "She's getting nervous about testifying tomorrow. I need to go to Syosset to talk to her and calm her down. Can you handle the opening statement on your own? I should be back after lunch."

"No problem," says Mike. "Why didn't you just call me and headed out once you got the message?"

"I wasn't sure that you would get here on time since I heard about the accident on Broadway and 14th, and I didn't want there to be no legal representatives for the prosecution. Here's the file I have of the case in case you need something."

Taking the file folder from Connie, Mike says, "Thanks for covering. See you after lunch."

Connie heads out and Mike sits down to wait for the previous session to complete.

* * *

Connie finds that when she gets to Syosset that Stacey Tipton is nervous that what she does on the side to cover bills will get back to her neighbors, friends and family, but Connie is able to convince her that it's better to put Conway in jail than let him kill again. Connie also preps her on questions the defence is likely to ask and suggests that it might be good for her husband, Bruce, to come with her and sit in the gallery. When Connie leaves, she's confident that Stacey will be a good witness for them, probably better than Robbie Vickery.

Connie texts Mike on her way back to the courthouse and suggests that they meet for a quick lunch outside Centre Street at 12:30. Mike texts back as she is switching from the 6 Train to the 4 Train at Grand Central that the opening went well and that he'll meet her on the court steps.

When Connie walks back to court at 12:20, she sees Mike already waiting for her on the steps while he checks his Blackberry.

"Did you see the weather warning for tonight?" asks Connie as she gets within Mike's earshot.

Mike looks up and smiles, "Yes, three to six inches. Perfect for snuggling inside with some hot chocolate." Mike knows that no one else is within earshot so he's a little bolder.

Connie looks at Mike up and down with a smile before saying, "Know of anyone you'll be snuggling with?"

"Perhaps, if she's willing," says Mike with a slight smile. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes, let's grab a couple of hot dogs," says Connie. "My treat. I see a few benches that are free. You don't mind eating outside, do you?"

"Not if I get to continue this conversation about snuggling," says Mike with a smirk.

After they settle on a bench facing 60 Center Street with their food, Mike asks between bites, "How did it go with Stacey Tipton?"

"She was a bit nervous, but I think I calmed her down," says Connie. "She'll be bringing her husband for moral support."

"What was her issue?" asks Mike.

"She was worried that her testifying will get back to their circle of people in Syosset," says Connie. "Completely understandable, but I was able to convince her that she was crucial to the case. I think she'll be fine and actually probably better than Robbie Vickery will be."

"You just don't like the fact that he likes to talk to your chest more than you," says Mike.

Connie rolls her eyes, but says nothing, so Mike continues, "Not that I blame him. I have a special preference for that part of your anatomy, too."

Connie schools her features to keep from physically reacting to that comment and says in a near-normal voice, "If you want to consider snuggling with a certain someone tonight, I suggest that you cease this line of conversation."

"Or what?" asks Mike with a hint of challenge in his voice before taking another bite of his food.

"Or I may have to molest you before we get back to court after lunch."

Mike tries to hide his reaction to this latest revelation, but is not entirely successful, especially since he nearly chokes on the bite of food he was about to swallow. It's a good thing that there's no one within earshot. After he recovers from his coughing fit which Connie does nothing to help him, Mike says in a normal tone, "You know I don't keep prophylactics with me. Besides, we only have another ten minutes before we have to back in court."

Connie leisurely takes her last bite of food, chews and swallows before saying with a smirk, "If I had some in my purse, ten minutes would give us more than enough time with some to spare."

Mike's eyes narrow before he says, "Low blow, Connie."

Connie licks her lips before saying, "Low blow indeed." Connie smirks before she gets up from the bench, throws away her garbage and starts walking towards the courthouse forcing Mike to keep up with her.

* * *

The afternoon witnesses were straight forward and they were done by 5:30. As they are walking down the courthouse steps, Mike says, "I have to go to the office to pick up something."

Connie puzzled by this since between them, they have all the relevant bits of the Conway file in their brief cases. "What do you have to get?"

"A shirt for tomorrow," says Mike somewhat sheepish. "I forgot to pack an extra shirt on Sunday and I keep a box on my coat rack in the office."

"Why am I not surprised by this?" ask Connie in a rhetorical manner.

"Because you know me well," says Mike. "I'll see you later."

Connie nods and says, "Let yourself in."

* * *

Mike doesn't actually leave the office until close to seven. Jack caught him in his office and wanted details on the Conway trial. After briefing Jack, Mike calls Connie to apologize and let her know he will be there in about a half hour. When Mike walks to the subway with a new shirt in his briefcase, the snow has started to fall. Mike smiles in remembrance of the sleigh ride yesterday. What he had told Connie last night was true. He loved her more than anyone he has ever loved and he is still falling even more deeply in love with her as he remembers their lunch conversation today. Since his faux pas at dinner yesterday, their relationship has been on an even better footing. _God, I love her. Remember no pushing and live the moment_. As the snow continues to fall, Mike starts to whistle a happy tune as he walks towards the subway entrance.

Mike knocks before he unlocks Connie's apartment door. He can hear the sounds of the TV on Discovery channel as he opens the door. As he takes off his overshoes and shoes, he calls out, "I'm here." As he hangs his tie, scarf, coat and suit jacket on hangers in the closet, he hears the TV getting turned off before Connie pads from the living room to the front hall. She's already changed out of her work clothes into something more comfortable.

Connie kisses Mike and says, "After you didn't show up by 6:30, I put the heated leftovers in the oven on low to keep it warm."

"Sorry I'm late. Jack wanted details on the trial. You know how he gets," says Mike as he unbuttons the buttons at his wrists and begins to roll up his sleeves.

"I know," says Connie with a sigh. "Why don't you sit down at the kitchen table and I'll bring out the heated food. I'm starving."

Mike looks at the kitchen table already set for two and asks, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Since you cooked this stuff, I think you've done more than enough. Please sit," says Connie as she turns off the oven and dons a pair of oven mitts to take the food out.

Mike does as he is asked and says, "Jim wants to meet at the Oasis Bar on Lexington tomorrow at seven, we'll grab a bit somewhere else after a few drinks. The corporate apartment he has this time is near the W hotel in mid-town. You don't mind, do you?"

As Connie sets down one warm dish on a pot stand, she says somewhat absentmindedly, "Sure no problem. So long as we go our separate ways afterwards, I need to do a review on the firm that's interviewing me on Thursday and I want to do a practice interview with you on Wednesday evening and tomorrow night is all I have left."

Looking at Connie, Mike says, "We could do some of that together tonight if you want."

As Connie puts the second warm dish on a pot stand, she says, "I thought you wanted to snuggle with some hot chocolate tonight."

"I don't see why we couldn't do both at the same time," says Mike with a smile.

Connie smiles before she puts the third pot on the table. Connie pours some wine into their glasses. She had picked up a Piesporter on the way home. Mike serves himself some rice before handing Connie the serving spoon and getting the beef and then some pad Thai. Mike is really enjoying the domesticity he feels with Connie. Usually at this point of a relationship, things are still awkward on the domestic front, but then he's never gotten involved with someone he already knew so well before either. Connie catches him staring at her and she smiles before saying, "What are you looking at?"

Without skipping a beat, Mike says, "The most beautiful woman in the world."

"Mike, stop it. You're making me blush," says Connie as she makes that head tilt that Mike finds so adorable.

"I'm only speaking the truth." Mike takes a forkful of food as if what he just said is the most normal thing.

"Is that what you're doing?" asks Connie.

"Yup and enjoying the relationship exactly where it is right now as someone suggested to me," says Mike as he quotes Connie right back at her.

Connie just smiles but has nothing to add. They eat the rest of dinner in companionable silence just enjoying each other's company, with the occasional glance at one another.

* * *

Connie clears the dishes from the table and puts them into the dishwasher because she refused to let Mike do anything and puts the kettle on. Afterward, she goes looking for Mike in her guest bedroom, where her desktop computer is located. He had asked to go use it after they ate. When she leans on the back of the chair to look over Mike's shoulder, she sees that he's pulled up a few bits of info on the firm she's interviewing with on Thursday. He is obviously more deft at search engines since he employs them on a regular basis with his Blackberry. He reaches to the printer where there are a few pages of printouts.

"I found your spare toner cartridge and installed it," says Mike in way of explaining how she now has printouts when they were out of ink last Monday. "I don't know if you get these refilled or not so I didn't throw it out." Mike points to the used cartridge on her desk.

"Thank you. You can get them refilled?"

"Yes, at those booths in shopping malls. You know the ones in the middle of the aisle. It's usually a quarter the price of a new cartridge."

"Mmm." Connie makes a non-committal sound. "What did you find?"

"I got a couple of reviews of the firm's retinue, plus some biographical information on some of the partners. Who are you interviewing with?" asks Mike.

"A David Greenberg," says Connie. "I think he's a junior partner. At least that's what he told me over the phone."

Mike shuffles through some of the paper in front of him and hands Connie David Greenberg's bio. "Says here, he's was made partner in 2005 and is also a Cornell law grad, class of '86. He took the New York Bar in September of the same year. He's on the board of several charities around the city and he likes to go sailing."

"How does he rate?" asks Connie.

"Good to very good," says Mike sort of impressed.

"Any negative ratings?" asks Connie

Mike shrugs and says, "A couple, but that's typical."

"Thanks," says Connie engrossed in studying the information in front of her.

"Anything else you need?" asks Mike.

"What else did you print out?"

Looking at the papers in front of him, Mike says, "Bios of all the partners, the firm's mission statement and a sampling of reviews on both partners and associates."

"I think that's pretty good. Thanks," says Connie with smile.

Gathering the papers together, Mikes says,"You're welcome."

"What do you honestly think of the firm?" asks Connie looking directly at Mike.

"From what I've read, they do some good work," says Mike as he glances at the printouts. "Some of it is high profile, like the acquittal of this drug dealer." Mike points at one of the printouts. "My replacement in Narcotics caught this one and she said that they were thorough. But most of it is the mundane stuff that everyone has their share of. I wouldn't mind working for them if they were looking for someone."

"OK," says Connie. "Good to know. Now I have my reading for the subway. Kettle should be done. Care to snuggle in front of the TV with some hot chocolate?"

"I thought you'd never ask," said Mike with a smile.

* * *

Three quarters of the way through the operation that Connie wanted to see on the Discovery Channel, she falls asleep on Mike's shoulder. They had finished their hot chocolate waiting for this show to come on and they were both engrossed by the story. Mike only notices that she had fallen asleep when the credits roll and she didn't move.

Mike kisses her on the forehead and says quietly for the second time today, "Connie, sweetheart. Wake up."

Connie blinks her eyes a few times and says, "Did I fall asleep?"

"You were tired and we had an early morning," says Mike. "Let's head to bed."

"Okay." Connie picks up their mugs and puts them in the dishwasher before running it. When she comes into the bedroom after doing her routine in the bathroom, Mike has already changed out of his clothes and is under the covers with the light on his side off. Connie quickly changes into a long t-shirt for sleeping and slips under the covers quietly. After setting the alarm for tomorrow, Connie turns off her light. As soon as she's laid down in bed, Mike scoots over and spoons her.

Now that she's had a small nap, she's not quite ready for sleep, so she turns to face Mike, kisses him and says, "I love you."

Mike not taking the bait so quickly, mumbles back, "I love you, too."

Connie thinks a bit and starts to tackle this the only way she knows how, though kisses. She starts on his forehead and moves to his cheek, then his lips. She then gently pushes him on this back and starts work on his neck. Pulling his t-shirt up as far as it would go with him lying on his back, she starts working her way down his abdomen. Before she gets to the top of his boxers, Connie suddenly feels herself being lifted and the next thing she knows she's flat on her back on her side of the bed and Mike is on top of her. Connie squeals in surprise and Mike captures her mouth with his through her giggles. It was definitely not what she had expected and it is arouses her all the more. Once she regains her senses, she feels two things, Mike trying to gain entrance into her mouth with his tongue and that Mike is fully aroused underneath his clothing.

Connie then wrap her arms around the back of Mike's neck before battling his tongue with hers. Shortly there after, she starts tugging at his t-shirt and he disengages enough to pull the rest of it off before dropping it on the side of the bed. Now Connie's blood is flowing and all she wants is him.

In the darkness of the room, only illuminated by the streetlights below filtered by the falling snow, they see enough to get by for what they need and they fulfill their desires as only two people who deeply love one another can do.

After about ten minutes, their breathing finally returns to normal. Connie looks at Mike and says, "That was amazing. Whatever you did, please do it again in the future."

Mike still dazed by the intensity of the high can barely make out an, "OK" before giving her a kiss. He wishes that he could just go to sleep as this session tired him out like no other, but he knows he has to go clean up. So with concerted effort, he gets up, grabs his clothes off the floor and stumbles to the bathroom.

After he gets back to bed and snuggles up to Connie, who is still awake, he falls asleep almost immediately leaving Connie to think about what just happened.

* * *

When Mike and Connie are awaken by the alarm the next morning, they are feeling refreshed. After their intense lovemaking session last night, they slept extremely well, barely moving in their sleep.

After the news on the hour is over and they are sitting up in bed, Mike looks at Connie and asks, "What happened last night? It was amazing and incredibly intense. Certain parts of me still ache."

"I have no idea, but I'd love it if you could repeat what you did. I haven't slept so well in months."

"I'll try," says Mike with a smile. "Mind if I shower first? I have to drop off my flight pack at my apartment before going to work. I don't want to be lugging it around when we have dinner with Jim tonight."

"Since it's in mid-town, would you care to stay over again since it will be closer to here than your apartment?" asks Connie.

"You know I won't say no, but are you sure?" asks Mike. "You wanted to do some research on the firm and we'll be spending Wednesday evening together somewhere practicing your interview skills and then I'm staying over on Friday for your nephew's birthday party on Saturday."

"Um. I think you did all the work I was planning to do tonight last night while I was putting the dishes away. This is a sort of a thank you for that." Connie smiles shyly at Mike. "I really appreciate your help with this." Connie leans in to give Mike a kiss on the cheek.

Mike is glowing from her praise and says after a quick glance at Connie, "Like I said, all you need to do is ask. I better head off to shower."

Connie grabs Mike's arm and says imploringly, "I want you to stay tonight."

"I guess I can bring a clean change of clothes for tomorrow into the office on my way in, and if I go in extra early tomorrow morning, maybe no one will notice that I will be wearing the same suit as I did today." Mike gives Connie a lopsided grin before heading to the bathroom.

* * *

Their Tuesday morning in court doesn't go very well. Their case is in shambles by lunch. Backlund, the defense attorney, got Stacey Tipton to seem defensive with plausible alternate theories of what happened between her and Conway and he set off Robbie Vickery as Connie had predicted, but their biggest concern is juror number seven, Jordan Pinter. Connie notices that he doesn't seem to be paying attention to the trial and they end up in Judge Barclay's office over lunch to discuss the issue.

When Mike notices that Pinter said something about identifying with Conway losing his parents as a kid, something that hasn't been mentioned at trial yet, they spend the rest of their lunch hour calling Van Buren at the precinct to get Lupo and Bernard on Pinter's tail that afternoon. By three, they find out who has been influencing Pinter. It's Carrie Newton with a dye job and brown contacts.

When they tell Jack about the new development, Mike gets a dressing down about not having done a good job with the intervention with her a month ago and going mano-a-mano with Conway. They spend the next few hours sorting out a strategy to salvage things. Mike and Connie are more than ready to head out for dinner and drinks by six-thirty.

* * *

**A/N2:** I hope that I depicted what could have happened behind the scenes at the Brilliant Disguise trial properly. I also added in the actual NYC weather forecast for Feb 15, 2010 with the three to six inches of snow. I happen to come across it when I was researching something else around the time I was writing this and thought I can incorporate this. Hope you liked it. As always, please let me know what you think! Constructive criticism always welcome! :)


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Here is the introduction of Mike's best friend, Jim Prescott. I figured that Mike must talk to somebody about stuff. The show never mentioned anyone, so I came up with Jim. Hope you like him. Much thanks to my beta, Tripp3235.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**The Oasis Bar, 541 Lexington Avenue, Tuesday, February 16**

When Mike and Connie arrive at the Oasis, Jim Prescott is already there sitting at the bar nursing a scotch. Jim is still dressed in his work clothes like Mike and Connie, but he's already loosened his tie and unbuttoned his top button, which Connie notes is what Mike often does in the office. When Jim sees them approach, he gets up and holds out his right hand above his head which Mike grasps with his before the two men dissolve into a man hug. Jim is a couple of inches taller than Mike but of a larger build and his coloring is darker than that of Mike's but lighter than that of Connie's.

"Mikey!"

"Jimmy!"

After they disengage, Jim looks at Connie with mock suspicion and says, "This must be the lovely Connie that I've heard so much about?"

"Indeed it is," says Mike caught up in Jim's enthusiasm. "Jim, this is Consuela Rubirosa, my lovely girlfriend, and Connie, this, here, is James Prescott III, my best friend since college."

Connie shakes the hand Jim extends and says with a smile, "Delighted to meet you, Jim."

"Same here, Connie, and you are more beautiful in person," says Jim with a big smile that puts Connie immediately at ease. Jim then looks at Mike and says, "Why don't we find ourselves a table?"

"Yeah, sure," says Mike. "I'll get our drinks." Looking at Connie, he says, "The usual?"

Connie nods. As Mike turns to the bartender to place his order, Jim is at her elbow with his drink from the bar.

"Lead the way, Connie," says Jim.

Surveying the busy establishment quickly, Connie spots a table by the window and heads towards it. "So how did you and Mike meet?" asks Connie.

"I was looking for some roommates for a house I rented since I was tired of commuting from Staten Island so I posted it on the housing board and he was one of the guys who answered it. We hit it off right away. Did you know that Mike was the king of caps at Purchase?"

Connie takes a seat facing the door and Jim sits beside her. "King of caps? No, I didn't. Actually, I would have never guessed." Connie smiles at the thought of Mike playing caps in college.

"We used to organize tournaments through the student union, get sponsors to put up prizes and the whole bit. Best part was that Mike would win all of them."

"Didn't anyone think that you guys may have jury rigged the whole thing if Mike won every time?" asks Connie with a bit of mirth.

"Nope," Jim chuckles. "He was just that good, plus we'd partner Mike with someone different each time to show it wasn't some sort of dynamic duo, though the end result was the same."

Mike arrives at this point with his and Connie's drinks, scotch neat for him and Jack and coke for Connie. He sits on the other side of Connie.

Jim looks at Mike and says, "Was just telling Connie about our caps tourneys at Purchase."

"Did you tell her about how you rigged it so that the prettiest girl in the tourney would always win one of the better prizes?" teases Mike.

"You're giving away our secret," says Jim.

"I have no secrets from Connie," says Mike with a smile for Connie. "Doesn't Shannon know about this? I know she knows that we used to organize tourneys."

Jim can't quite look Mike in the eye, but says, "Well, it never came up," before finishing off his drink and waving to the bartender for another.

Mike smiles and says, "Well, I guess it's something I can tell Shannon the next time I see her."

"With this information, you may never see her again," says Jim in a mock threat.

Mike turns to Connie to explain, "Shannon, his wife, doesn't think that just being pretty should get you anywhere in life."

Connie smiles and speaks up, "Though I've never met her, I will agree 100%."

Jim reaches over the table and whacks Mike on the arm and says, "The women haven't met and are already ganging up on us."

"Does that really surprise you?" counters Mike. "How are Shannon and the kids?"

"The business has picked up a bit, so she's doing longer hours after the kids go to bed, but it's better than when she had to cut staff hours," says Jim. "Have to say though that they were much more appreciative of cut hours than being laid off after the economy tanked. Jamie is doing pretty well in third grade this year. He has his first state tests this year in May, so the school is doing a little bit of teaching to the tests. He's also into hockey right now, so one of us is always at the rink with him. Amanda is enjoying kindergarten. She's always writing stories for us to read. They generally involve princesses being rescued by a handsome prince."

"Hockey?" asks Mike, picking up on the fact that Jim's son has picked up on a different sport than baseball. "What happened? I thought you said that he was enjoying little league?"

"I did and he was, but his best friend, Tyler, is into hockey and he wanted to try it out in January. So now I'm a hockey dad, and he wants to be Sidney Crosby." Jim throws his arms up in gesture of defeat.

Turning to Connie, Mike says as he points to Jim, "This guy started Jamie on baseball since they found out at the ultrasound that he was a boy. Shannon told me that Jim put Yankees play-by-play on every night from spring training on until she was in labor and delivery just so that he could expose him in utero. His nursery was in a baseball theme. They took him to Triple-A and Major League games since he was a newborn. What more does a guy have to do to turn a boy to baseball?"

Connie smiles and says gently, "I think you may have over done it. My mother who has five children and over a dozen grandchildren says that pushed too far, children will rebel."

Jim gestures at Mike and says, "That's what Shannon said when I lamented being a hockey dad." Squinting at Connie, Jim continues, "You don't look like Shannon. Are you sure you've never met her?"

Connie smiles and says, "I'm positive."

It's then that the waitress brings Jim's order and asks Mike and Connie if either of them wanted anything. When they both decline, she leaves after Jim pays her.

Mike looks at Jim and says, "So what did you want for dinner?"

"Something ethnic would be good. The food just not the same upstate. What's near here these days?"

"There's an Indian place just down the block that's decent."

"You good with that Connie?" asks Jim.

Connie nods. Jim downs his drink and says, "Let's go then."

Mike and Connie both finish theirs quickly and they get up to leave. As they walk out of The Oasis, Connie can't help but think what a character Jim is and how different Mike is in his presence.

They are settled at a table by the window at the small Indian restaurant and the waiter after bringing their drinks has just left with their order.

Jim looks at Mike and says, "Did I tell you that Crazy Amy tried to friend me on Facebook?"

"You dated her in second year, right? Before I got there?"

"For all of two weeks, before she started spouting some crazy rant about the whales." Looking at Connie, Jim says, "She dated one of the other guys who was renting a room at the house for the entire time that Mike was there, so I never did get away from her until I went to business school."

Mike looks at Connie and says, "She's the one who told me that an engagement ring was supposed to be two months salary for the guy."

"And you believed her?" asks Jim. Jim picks up on the fact that Mike and Connie have been discussing engagement rings, but says nothing.

"I checked it out later and she was right," says Mike. "Don't tell me that the rock you got Shannon right after your first promotion wasn't worth two months salary."

"I didn't say it wasn't worth two months salary. I just didn't pay two months salary for it." Jim smiles. "You were so gullible then." Glancing at Connie, Jim asks, "Did he ever tell you that he used to think that taking the same course as a girl you liked would make them want to go out with you?"

Connie smiles and says, "He did say that he took a law course to impress a girl. I guess that worked in my favor."

Mike says, "Well, it would at least give you some common ground with them."

Connie giggles, puts her hand on his and says in a teasing tone, "It's OK, Mike. You know how to get a girl to want to go out with you now."

Mike smiles back.

Jim looks at Connie and says, "So Mike says that your Dad is from Spain? What parts? We went on a family vacation over March break in 2008."

"He's from Seville. Did you go there?"

"We were actually there for part of the Semana Santa celebrations since it was an early Easter."

"It's incredible isn't it? Did you see the procession?"

"Only part of it, the kids got restless, so we had to go back to the hotel. Did your family go back often?"

"When we were younger, the whole family would go once every three years. Sometimes we'd go during summer holidays and it was unbearably hot, but often my parents would use one of the week long school holidays and just add a week to it, but I haven't been in over fifteen years, though my parents still make the trip."

It's then that their food starts to arrive. They eat and discuss various topics including how good the food is, crime rate in NYC and, the economy. When they are about done their dessert, Jim brings up the Yankees.

"Just to clear the air, Jim. You should know that Connie's family are Mets fans."

Jim says in mock horror with his hands to his chest looking from Connie to Mike, "You're one of them. How could you, Mikey?"

"It's OK," says Mike. "She's willing to come to our side if I'm willing to explain the game to her. Apparently, her brothers have given up."

"Phew!" says Jim with relief evident in his voice. "I was worried that I'd have to dislike you after all." Jim winks at Connie who smiles back with mirth in her eyes. Connie can see why this man is the VP of a regional sales office for a multi-national.

"We're going to the first Saturday home game in April against the Rangers. Did you want to go with us?" asks Mike.

"I'll check with Shannon and my folks," says Jim in a more serious voice. "We haven't been down to the city since last fall when the Yankees won the World Series, so the folks might want to see the kids and be willing to put us up. Send me a meeting request."

Mike pulls out his Blackberry and fiddles with it.

Connie looks at Jim incredulous and says, "You, too?"

"Me, too?" For once, Jim can't follow the conversation.

"A Blackberry addict like Mike?" says Connie as if it's the most obvious thing.

"Possibly," says Jim. "Don't you have one? I thought Mike said that all ADAs got them courtesy of the city."

"Yes, but I don't send meeting requests for personal things," says Connie.

"Why?" asks Jim genuinely puzzled. "Sometimes I have twelve meetings a day. If I don't block time off on my calendar for personal things, it will be filled with some other work thing."

"Have you ever sent your wife a meeting request for Valentine's Day?" asks Connie completely expecting him to say no.

"Yes, with information on the restaurant, time and name on the reservation," says Jim. "That way, if something changes for either of us, we can notify one another of what changed. Shannon's in IT. She's had a BlackBerry since the mid-nineties when they first came out and we've been scheduling our personal time since before then." Seeing that Connie still has a look of stunned disbelief, Jim continues, "She was the one who convinced me to get my sales staff on them in the late nineties. With a mobile device that they could fit in their shirt pocket, they've been able to get up-to-the-minute information for over a decade. Gave them an incredible edge for the longest time."

Mike's Blackberry dings at that moment, he looks at it and says, "Shannon says she and the kids' are free that weekend and that she'll call your folks tonight."

Jim pulls his Blackberry out of his pocket fiddles with it and says, "Looks like if my folks are in, we're in."

"Ping me when you find out and I'll order the tickets then," says Mike.

"Will do," says Jim. Turning to Connie, he says, "I heard you met the formidable June Cutter and won. Let me shake your hand." Jim extends his hand out and Connie shakes it hesitantly. "I met her once and let me tell you, she cut me down to size."

"What happened?" asks Connie quite curious.

"Well, it was the beginning of fourth year and apparently she was remodeling her place to take over Mike's old room, so she came down to the house with a cube van of all of Mike's worldly possessions. Mike had gone to return some bottles from our caps tourney the previous night, though I still think he skipped out on me knowing his mother was coming, and I was recovering from a hang over when I answered the door."

Mike interrupts in a slightly indignant tone, "How many times do I have to tell you that I had no idea she was coming."

Jim waves him off and continues the story he's telling, "She called me a 'no-good drunken frat boy who was leading Michael astray and that I let him live in the pigsty he called his room with a hussy who was going to bleed him dry'. Mike usually barely had enough money to pay the rent and didn't even have a girlfriend at the time. They had broken up the month before. So she had the guys driving the truck to put all of it on the front lawn of the house. Mike didn't show up until they were almost all done even though the bottle return was only ten minutes away and he just 'yes, ma'am'ed, 'no, ma'am'ed her until she left. We ended up spending the next four hours moving everything into the basement before it rained. If I hadn't been so hung over, I might have been able to give her a piece of my mind."

"I'd be willing to make a bet that Mike knew and was avoiding his mother," Connie says as she's laughing.

"Who's side are you on?" Mike is only partially mock indignant.

"The truth," says Connie with a chuckle and Mike has no reply. "Oh come on, Mike. That's your classic strategy with your mother. If I didn't force you to confront her as a united front in Oregon, you would have avoided her again and let her think I was a 'hussy who was going to bleed you dry'."

Mike can't quite make eye contact with Connie and makes a non-committal sound.

Connie then asks Jim, "Have you met his Aunt Millie?"

"No, but I've spoken to her over the phone a number of times," says Jim. "She used to call pretty regularly to check on Mike and send him packages that always included something for the rest of us guys."

"She's nice isn't she?" asks Connie. "I met her in Oregon as well and she's almost diametrically opposed to his mother. I couldn't get over that they're sisters."

"She was really nice," says Jim thinking back. "We'd get Christmas cookies from her the first week of December every year and fudge a week before Easter. She knew the name of every guy living at the house and she even knew the sound of my voice over the phone. Though I've never met her, I really like her. How is she doing, Mike?"

"Retired and gossipy," says Mike. "She and Connie got along like two peas in a pod when we were there. I'm sure that she shared every embarrassing episode from my childhood in Oregon."

"I doubt that, Mike," says Connie trying to cajole him. "Aunt Millie just wanted to share her stories of you with me and she wants the best for you. You must know that."

"I do," admits Mike grudgingly. "Just you and Aunt Millie got along a little too well for my comfort."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Mike," says Connie with a smile. Looking at Jim, Connie asks, "So where do you and your family live? Mike mentioned upstate but didn't go into details. I went to Cornell for law school so my friends and I would occasionally hop up to Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and sometimes Albany to go dancing."

"About a half hour outside of Buffalo," says Jim. "My office is in Buffalo, but Shannon's family is in Rochester, so we compromised with Akron. We've been there almost ten years now. Had the house built, so we lived in Buffalo before that."

"Their place is really nice and the house is palatial," says Mike. "They have a six bedroom, 14 acres and it includes a small lake."

"You guys will have to come up for a weekend sometime," says Jim. "I can't get Mike out of the city for a visit more than once every five years, but maybe you can work some magic? We renovated last year, added a sunroom and a pool. The kids love playing with Uncle Mike."

Connie files that bit of information on Mike, looks at him and says, "That might be fun."

"If you'd like to go, we could go," says Mike.

"If we have time, maybe I can show you Cornell."

That piques Mike's interest and he says, "That would make a nice drive."

Looking at both Mike and Jim, Connie says, "If you guys would excuse me, I need to use the little girl's room." She then gets up and goes to the ladies' room.

Once Connie is out of ear shot, Mike asks, "So what do you think? She's amazing, isn't she?"

Jim picks up his beer glass and says, "Mikey, my boy, I don't think you can do better. She's beautiful, she's smart, she's articulate, dresses immaculately and she obviously loves you." After drinking a mouthful of it, he asks, "My question is what took you so long to get her to go out with you?"

Mike looks at Jim with a hint of guilt and says, "Because what I haven't told you is that she's my second chair and she reports to me."

Jim nearly chokes on the last of his beer. "Are you nuts? You've been talking about her since your promotion a couple of years ago. That's one hell of a conflict of interest. It's reckless, Mike."

"Trust me," says Mike. "I'm well aware of that situation. We're well aware of the situation, but we work for Jack McCoy and he's notorious for getting involved with his subordinates, so that gives us some leeway but we're investigating several different avenues to fix it. She's got an interview with a firm on Thursday morning and Jack is working some stuff out for us."

"Are you looking for something as well?" asks Jim curious.

"I offered," says Mike as he puts his napkin on the table. "We discussed it and she decided of her own volition that it would be best for her to look for for something, and as you know my options are somewhat limited. I never got my BA, remember?"

"I thought you took care of that years ago?" Jim can't quite believe what he's hearing. Mike is usually more meticulous than that.

"No," says Mike.

"Why the hell not?" Now Jim is a little annoyed.

"Just never got around to it," says Mike not willing to say more.

"Don't you remember the third habit?" Jim reminds Mike.

"Put First Things First*," recites Mike.

"Yes, focus and work on the important but not urgent tasks before they become urgent," says Jim. "That's how you do things at the DA's office, right? I would tend to think this would fall under that category, no?"

"Probably, but I just never got around to it," says Mike. "Here she comes. She doesn't know yet. It's never quite come up."

Jim keeps quiet for Mike's sake.

Connie looks at the two men and asks, "Ready to go?"

Mike says, "It's my turn to treat." He's holding the bill.

"I told you before that I can expense this," says Jim.

"It's not going to hurt their bottom line if you don't expense one dinner. It's my turn to treat." Mike looks at Jim intently and Jim gives in.

Connie and Jim wait for Mike in the entrance way of the restaurant and Connie asks, "Where are you staying on this visit? Mike said that it was close to the W."

"It's on third near 49th Street. The company started buying apartments for visiting execs twenty-five years ago to keep travel costs to headquarters down and when we visit, we're assigned one of them for the duration of the stay. Over the years I think I've been to all of them, but we never know which one we'll be assigned to until 48 hrs before we leave. When I was a junior VP, I had to share a two bedroom but now that I head the regional office in Buffalo, I get a one-bedroom but I don't have to share." Connie was amazed at how this information from Jim came in such a matter-of-fact manner and he sounds like he's thrilled to have a corporate apartment to himself rather than as showing off his position. If it was some other man, it would have come out as a brag.

After thinking about it, Connie says, "If they started buying real estate twenty-five years ago in Manhattan and decide to sell at any point in time, they'd making a tidy profit from it."

"I'm sure they would make a tidy profit," says Jim. "Not only that, but executives are always visiting headquarters for something, so they are rarely vacant and not having had to pay hotels for each of them for the past 25 years, there must be substantial savings. Plus, they also rent them to any employee visiting the city for the weekend at something like $50/night and they go so quickly that you have to book a year in advance sometimes, plus with real estate values going up, I'm sure they'll make a tidy profit if they were to sell them."

Mike joins them at this juncture and they proceed outside the restaurant where they say their goodbyes.

"Was lovely to meet you, Connie," says Jim holding his hand out for Connie, who shakes it. "Take care of Mike for me, OK?"

"Same here, Jim," says Connie with a smile. "And I'll do my best. Have a safe trip home."

"Thanks, Connie," says Jim as he turns to Mike.

Mike pulls Jim into a man hug and says, "Take care of yourself, Jim, and say hi to Shannon and the kids for me."

While they are in the hug, Jim says quietly, "Promise me you'll take care of the BA thing soon, Mikey." For Connie's benefit, he says in a more normal tone, " I will and take care of Connie, Mike."

When they release one another, Mike looks Jim in the eye, nods and replies, "I will. Let me know when you hear from your folks for the mid-April first Saturday home game."

"Will do," says Jim as he waves before he walks in the direction of the corporate apartment.

Mike takes up Connie's free hand and they start walking hand-in-hand toward the nearest subway station.

After they've walked about a half a block, Connie says, "Jim is quite the character. I like him. He puts you at ease right from the start."

"Yeah, that he does," says Mike.

"I gather that he's quite successful at his job," says Connie.

"Very. He started with the company right after he got his MBA. You might say that it's his only real job."

"A lifer," says, Connie. "Hm. So how come you've only visited them once every five years or so?"

"C'mon, Connie," says Mike giving her a look. "What's the fun of a single guy going to visit his friend's family?"

"But you think it'll more fun with me," says Connie raising an eyebrow at this.

"Everything is more fun with you," says Mike with a smile, as he brings the glove hand he's holding to his lips to kiss.

"Oh, Mike!" Connie is thrilled by Mike's statement.

On impulse, Mike quickly looks around them and steers Connie into the nearest deserted alleyway. He has her against the wall before she knows it. Mike then drops his briefcase into the uncleared snow and places his hands on Connie's rosy cheeks before saying, "For instance, this is way more fun with you than on my own." He then pulls her in for one of the softest kisses they've ever had.

Connie finally recovers from this gesture when Mike pulls away from the kiss and looks her lovingly in the eye. At which point, she drops her own briefcase and wraps her arms around his neck and pull him in for a more passionate kiss and his hands instinctively moving to her waist.

When they pull apart, Mike says, "See what I mean?"

Connie mumbles an affirmative before pulling Mike in for another round and they kiss for a few more minutes. When they pull apart again, Connie says, "You know we don't have to do this in a deserted alleyway. You are staying over, right?"

Mike grins broadly and says, "I like how you think."

As he is picking up his briefcase, Connie says as she has a wet wipe in hand, "May I wipe off traces of our alleyway tryst before we head out?"

"Be my guest," says Mike as he stands still for Connie's ministrations.

"There," says Connie as she looks at her handiwork. "Your face is clean again. As much as I find my lipstick on your face endearing, I'm sure other people don't."

Mike kisses Connie lightly on the cheek and says, "Thank you. I love you, you know."

Connie smiles and says, "You can show me when we get to my apartment."

It surprises Mike that it takes him a few seconds to get her meaning and he says, "You can count on it." Mike then holds out an arm for her to loop hers into and they walk back out into the snowy sidewalk.

*From Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

* * *

A/N2: So what did you think of Jim? I tried to make him a gregarious, fun type of guy who's also a successful person in his own right. He's the older brother Mike never had. Did I succeed? Please let me know what you think. :) Constructive criticism always welcome!


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Sorry this story came a little late. With my daughter going to her first day of school, last week, it occupied more of my time than I would have liked. This is a bridging chapter to the conclusion of Brilliant Disguise which is why it is such a short one (in fact likely to be the shortest chapter in this story). Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter. Please keep them coming. Many thanks to my beta, Tripp3235. Major spoilers for Brilliant Disguise, obviously. :)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Consuela Rubirosa, Across from Morgan's Market, Wednesday, February 17**

Mike manages to get to the office early enough to change into a different suit and a new shirt for the day despite having spent the night at Connie's and having not just one but two heated encounters overnight. Connie spends all of Wednesday tracking down Carrie Newton and manages to finally get a hold of her to schedule a meeting for the following day. She also manages to schedule a meeting with the judge regarding Pinter for Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Mike spends his time gathering his thoughts on how he wants to handle Conway on the stand on Friday morning.

When 6:30 rolls around, Mike and Connie pack up and relocate to Connie's to practice her interview skills, picking up some take out on the way there. After they had eaten, Mike pulls out his Blackberry and says, "Did you want to pretend it's a regular greet and meet? I have some standard questions here."

Putting the last of the dishes in the dishwasher, Connie says, "Sure. That would be a good place to start. Then you can give me some pointers before we quit for the night. I'm hoping to go to bed by 9:30. I have to leave here at 6:30 and I want to be fresh for the breakfast."

"Alright," says Mike as he stands up and gesturing at Connie's kitchen table as if it was the table at the restaurant. Connie stands as well, walks to the entrance of the kitchen and enters again as if approaching the table for the breakfast interview. Looking at Connie, he extends his hand out and says, "Good Morning, Miss Rubirosa. I'm David Greenberg. Great to meet you. Please sit down."

Looking at Mike straight on, Connie takes his hand, shakes it and says "Good Morning, Mr Greenberg," before sitting down.

"Your resume is quite impressive," says Mike as David. "How long have you been at the District Attorney's office?"

"Since 2004, five years," says Connie. "I started there right after clerking for Judge Misner."

"Have you always been interested in criminal law?" asks Mike.

"Yes, I find trials invigorating. Putting a criminal behind bars shows a justice system at work."

This back and forth continues between Mike and Connie for about 45 minutes before Mike ends it with a "It was delightful to meet you. It would seem there may be a mutual interest after all. We'll be in touch."

Glad it was over, Connie says, "So, how did I do?"

"Pretty good, though you might not want to tell a defense attorney that putting a criminal behind bars shows a justice system at work," says Mike with a smile.

Connie rubs her left eye and says, "Oh, I need to remember that I'm interviewing for the other side of the fence."

"Also, you seem a tad eager when you said that you've pulled 70 hour work weeks on a regular basis," says Mike. "If your plan is to continue at this position after the children arrive, you might want to consider leaving that out or lowering the number significantly. You don't want them to think that it's your standard hours and that you would need to pull 90 hour work weeks at busy times."

"Good point," says Connie.

"Other than that you did great," says Mike proudly. "You projected yourself well, showed significant interest without sounding desperate. I would hire you."

"Would you now?" says Connie with a mischievous grin.

"Yes, I would," Mike countered with a grin of his own.

"OK. I think I'm ready," says Connie as she gets up from the table holding out her hand for Mike to take. "Did you want to watch a little TV with me before you go?"

"Sure," says Mike before he takes her hand and walks into the living room with her.

On the couch, Mike is sitting on one end with his arms around Connie, while she is snuggled against him. Only watching the TV with a passing interest, Connie's hands starts to wander under Mike's shirt and starts to kiss him. Soon the show is forgotten and they are making out on the couch. Eventually, Mike is hovering over Connie on the couch with her arms around his neck. His shirt unbuttoned and his pants rather tight.

Looking straight up at Mike with her adoring eyes, Connie says, "Make love to me," before pulling him down for a kiss.

After pulling away from that kiss, Mike says, "I'm not suppose to stay here tonight, right?"

"No, because I need to get my rest but I sleep better after sex," says Connie with a grin.

Mike smiles back and says, "Let me be of service then." He then proceeds to kiss Connie hungrily.

As they are kissing, Connie takes the opportunity to loosen his belt and his pants, boxers and socks are quickly removed. Next, Mike works on relieving Connie of her blouse, camisole and bra, which takes a little work since she is lying under him. Connie then works on removing Mike's shirt and t-shirt while he works on her pants, panties and stockings.

After they are both naked, Connie gets up and leads Mike to her bedroom. Once there, Connie turns on the bedside lamp, pulls Mike onto the bed and into a kiss. A passionate, satisfying round of lovemaking ensues. Once their breathing returns to normal, Mike on his elbows, uses his hand to take the hair out of Connie's eyes. He looks at her with utter adoration and says, "You are so beautiful. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Mike," says Connie as she looks straight back at him.

"I should go and clean up. I'll come and say good night after I get dressed."

Connie nods as she can't think of anything to say that won't come out as a plea for him to stay. He gives her a quick kiss and gets up.

Feeling empty without Mike in her arms, Connie rolls to her side and covers up. Pretending that Mike is coming back to her bed, Connie settles down, ready to fall asleep.

A little while later, Mike comes into the room only illuminated by the streetlights below. He's dressed and he puts Connie's clothes on the foot of the bed. Kneeling down, Mike kisses her on the cheek and says, "Good Luck. See you in Judge Barclay's chambers at 9:30. Good night, sweetheart."

Connie awakens enough to mumble, "Good night, Mike."

Before he goes, Mike checks that Connie's alarm clock is on and set to 5:00am.

* * *

Mike is outside of Judge Barclay's chambers by 9:20 and soon he hears the familiar clicking of Connie's heels coming down the hallway. Looking up, he smiles at her and she smiles back looking like someone who just nailed a breakfast interview.

When she is next to him, he asks quietly, "How did it go? You look like you just did a great interview."

Connie smiles and says in the same quiet tones, "It went really well. He said that he'll have his assistant set up a more formal interview when one of the partners is free from their trial, likely in three weeks."

"That's terrific," says Mike. "I told you you'd do fine."

"Thanks to all your help," says Connie.

Just then, Backlund arrives so they stop talking about the interview and start to joust with Conway's lawyer while they wait for the judge's assistant to call them in.

* * *

They manage to convince the judge that Pinter needs to be off the jury, but they aren't able to get a mistrial, so they get ready for their meeting with Carrie Newton at 2:00.

The meeting with Carrie Newton doesn't go well. She is convinced that Conway is in the right and they are in the wrong even pointing out that she never told Pinter how to vote so there's nothing that they can do to her.

They also find out that afternoon that the judge spoke to all the jurors and that Pinter hadn't spoke to any of them. When Jack happened by on his way back from a meeting with the mayor, they start to discuss the situation and Mike is convinced that she was going to wait until deliberations started before the tampering would start. Jack thinks the case is a shambles but Mike refuses to offer Conway another plea. Jack reminds him that Conway isn't the only one who does cost-benefit analysis of behavior. Mike counters that he isn't a bean counter and he would go out on the ledge with Conway if he has to. When Jack walks away unconvinced, both Connie and Mike are worried about the whole trial.

They spend the rest of the afternoon working on strategies to handle Conway. They come up with three possible routes that Mike won't know which to take until he's questioning Conway tomorrow.

At 6:30, Connie suggests that they call it a day. "Let me take you out to dinner," she says in hopes of

getting Mike to cheer up a little. Her interview this morning had gone so well, that even the trial can't put a complete damper on it.

"Sure," says Mike absentmindedly as he's checking something on his laptop. "I'll be there in a minute."

They get to Natalie's Cafe and the conversation is a little stilted though Connie does try her best. Mike is distracted by having to cross Conway tomorrow and at the end of the evening, Mike says, "I'm sorry, I'm not good company right now. Do you mind if we both go back to our own apartments tonight?"

"Sure," says Connie a little disappointed at Mike's suggestion. "I have some stuff to get done anyway. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow to work out?"

"Sure. I'll come by around 5:30."

Mike walks Connie to the subway station and sees her off to her train before he heads over to his.

* * *

**A/N2:** I hope I captured their dour moods by the fourth day of the trial. I found that by the Thursday, Jack was very unhappy with what had gone on thus far and then Mike pulls a rabbit out of a hat for the trial, but puts a huge dent into his relationship with Connie with how he went about it. The next chapter will go over the aftermath of all that because we see in the Innocence trial that they are working together again. So it looks like Connie is doing extremely well with her job interview. Will she change jobs or will Jack be able to have Connie report to him while remaining Mike's second chair?


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** I have not fallen off the face of the earth. :) My sincere apologies for not having updated this story in many months. I find that the fall tends to be a busy time for me personally. I also think that needed some personal distance from the story to give it an objective eye. However, since I now have this chapter available, I thought I would post it now. Likely it will be another month before I can post another chapter. As well, I should mention that I did post the prologue to this story from two different POVs at .net/s/6683673/1/Prologue_to_Courtship in case you missed it since it was posted as a separate story. Much thanks goes to my beta, Tripp3235, who actually beta'd it in the fall, but I didn't have a chance to integrate her comments then.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Consuela Rubirosa, Across from Morgan's Market, Friday, February 19**

Connie is fuming. _What the heck was Mike thinking? Telling the court that he "ordered her to use her attractiveness."_ Just thinking of the words infuriated her. They had spent a pleasant morning doing the circuit around her apartment before they left for work and had plans to spend Friday night together, since Mike is suppose to attend her nephew's birthday party Saturday afternoon. After the trial, Connie avoided Mike as much as possible. She even took her research to the city archives for the Stuber case to avoid having to spend time at her desk, where Mike could apologize. She needed some time away from Mike before she could talk civilly to him.

At the end of the day, Connie sent Mike an email to notify him that she was heading home and to not worry about her nephew's party the next day. It was better if they spent time apart for the time being. She then headed home. It had been a long week and today just made it that much longer.

On her way home on the subway, Connie had visions of a Mike Cutter voodoo doll and sticking pins into it or twisting its neck off. Her fury was getting the best of her. She decided to stop off at her local Chinese take out place for some dinner since she was going to get some unexpected time to herself this evening.

By the time she walked in the door of her apartment, her fury had worn off a little, but she was still ticked at Mike. There were a couple of messages on her answering machine. One was from her sister calling to say that the family was looking forward to meeting her new guy. The second one was from Mike. As soon as she heard his voice, she hit the save button. She was in no mood to listen to Mike. Whatever he had to say could wait until at least tomorrow. She then turns off the ringer.

As she is settling down for an evening in front of the TV in her comfortable clothing with some popcorn, her buzzer rings. _Who could that be?_

* * *

Mike has been remorseful since he sat down after his cross on Conway. When he looked over at Connie after his cross and she had refused to make eye contact. As he was packing up as the court was adjourned for the day at lunch, Connie just told him in passing that she was going to the archives to do some research on the Stuber case and left without waiting for him. Mike figured that he would give her some time before he would approach her with an apology. It would likely be better received.

When he got back to the office, Mike was pulled into a meeting on the Edwards case that he was working on with another ADA and in the end, it went all afternoon. When it was done, Mike looks out of his office to Connie's desk and it is as she had left it this morning before the Conway trial. Since it is now 6:30 on a Friday afternoon, it is unlikely that she would come back to the office, which starts to ring alarm bells in Mike's head. So Mike goes and checks his Blackberry to see if she had called him and finds her email telling him not to worry about her nephew's party and that it might be best to spend sometime alone which just causes Mike to panic.

Mike tries to call her on her Blackberry and gets voicemail. He leaves her a long apology of what had happened and how the idea of using the incident with the juror just came to him as he was doing his cross on Conway and that there was no way to have warned her about what he was going to do. He then texts her in a repeat of the phone call.

After five minutes of no response, he tries calling her at home and gets her machine. He calls her again fifteen minutes later and gets voicemail again and he continues to call her every fifteen minutes in hopes that she would eventually pick up. At 7:30, Mike makes a decision and grabs his coat and his Blackberry and runs out of his office barely remembering to lock the door behind him.

He hails a cab and gives the driver Connie's address. It is going to take him a good twenty minutes to get there and he better have a decent apology ready when he gets there. As Mike is formulating the best way to approach the whole thing, he calls her a few more times on her Blackberry to no avail.

When the cab arrives at Connie's, Mike checks her window and sees a light. _Thank God!_ Mike realizes that it might not be the best idea to come empty-handed, so he stops off at the little Italian restaurant that Connie likes and gets a couple of Connie's favorite dishes to go and grabs about the only bouquet of flowers left from a florist who is about to close for the evening.

Finally, when Mike gets back to Connie's building, he has to juggle the packages a little before he can press the buzzer for Connie's apartment.

"Who is it?" Mike can tell from Connie's voice that she is obviously tired and annoyed at the intrusion.

"Connie, it's Mike. Please don't hang up. I'm downstairs and I'm so sorry about what happened this morning. Can I please come up so that I can explain and apologize properly. Please!"

There is a silence , but she doesn't hang up on him. Finally, Mike hears Connie say, "Come on up" and buzzes him in.

This was the first sign of hope that Mike has received since he got her email. As he opens the front doors, Mike mutters to no one in particular, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," and heads to the elevators.

* * *

Connie's demeanor is better after hearing Mike's pleading over the intercom. He could have attempted to let himself in with his own key, but knew better. Connie wasn't half surprised when she heard Mike's voice. She figured that he would attempt something like this when she sent her email. She just wondered how long it would take him.

Connie unlocks her apartment door so that Mike could come in when he gets there. Connie turns the TV back on, but she isn't really paying any attention. Mike's gesture has turned the tide of Connie's fury at him. It isn't that she isn't angry still, but the rational part of her brain has reasserted and she is at least willing to hear him out.

When he knocks, Connie calls out, "It's open, Mike."

Muffled by the door, Mike says, "I can't open it myself."

Connie is puzzled by this, mutes the TV and gets up to open the door for Mike.

What she sees normally would have caused her to smile at the very least, but she is in no mood. Mike is standing at her door in his winter coat holding a brown paper bag in one hand and an enormous, clear vase of flowers full of water in the other and he's trying to balance the two.

Mike's face is sheepish as he crosses the threshold. "I'm sorry, Connie. I'm really, really sorry."

"Why are you burden down with all this?" Connie's brows furrow.

Mike smiles a little and says, "I didn't want to come empty handed with my apology." _At least she's not throwing things at you. Good first step._

Connie being a soft-hearted person takes the flowers from Mike and places them on a sofa table and they overwhelm it.

"You could have come in with your key," says Connie as she turns to him, still irritated. "You didn't have to be buzzed up."

Mike walks into the kitchen and puts that dinner on Connie's counter and walks back into the living room.

"I wasn't sure how I would be received and I thought that I had lost the privilege with what happened this morning." Mike is sincerely contrite, which makes it difficult for Connie to keep her anger at a boiling level.

Connie crosses her arms. "So what possessed you, someone who doesn't want me to sell myself short in the job market, to sell me down the river?"

Mike is just about to reply when Connie continues, "What possessed you to think that it was OK to tell the court that 'you ordered me to use my attractiveness'? Firstly, if you recall, you didn't so much order me to use it as you sneaked it by when you noticed the juror's attentiveness, which reminds me that we never resolved that issue. Secondly, we may be involved but you do not have that type of control over me. Thirdly, have you thought what people are going to think when our relationship comes out in the open or were you planning to keep it under wraps forever? Did you even consider my professional reputation? When judges and lawyers hear about this and I'm sure they will sooner rather than later, they will judge me by what you said this morning. I already heard whispers on the way out of court today. You could have at least warned me." The fury, disappointment and hurt in Connie's voice and words not to mention the tears in Connie's eyes makes Mike feel about two inches tall.

Mike waits for Connie to continue and is smart enough to keep his distance. He knows that one wrong word or one wrong move and all that he has built in the last month and a half would be over with no hope of revival.

When Connie sniffles, Mike takes it as his cue to start his apology. "Connie, I am so sorry for what I said in court today. I should have thought it through, all the implications, before I said it. The ramifications didn't occur to me until after Conway confessed to manipulating the juror using Carrie Newton. I will do whatever is necessary to fix any misconceptions my statement perpetuated. Yes, it was a mistake two years ago to not inform you of the juror's intent when I realized it. For that, I apologize as well. No, I do not have any control over you. Our relationship does not involve control for anyone. You know I don't plan to keep our relationship under wraps permanently. We agreed that to avoid conflict of interest allegations, we would not show it openly at the office. As I said before, I did not consider the ramifications to your professional reputation, though I obviously should have. For that, I am profoundly sorry and will do what is necessary to correct misconceptions of your abilities. This doesn't excuse it, but it didn't occur to me to use that twisted bit of fact until I realized that the only way I could have made Conway confess was to make him think that I had more control over 'my people' than he did over his." Seeing that Connie was receptive to what he was saying, Mike takes a step forward, takes one of Connie's hand in both of his, still looking down in his contriteness, but he is now inside her personal space. "It was reckless and a gamble. Fortunately for us it will likely be a guilty verdict."

When Connie shows no signs of moving, Mike is encouraged and continues. "I really am sorry and you should not be the one who pays the price for what I said. Please tell me what I can do to make it up to you besides correcting misconceptions."

Mike finally feeling bold enough looks Connie in the face and she is looking at him still with tears in her eyes. The look of misery in Connie's eyes that has replaced the fury breaks Mike's heart. Mike is choked up and almost can't get this out, so it comes out as a near whisper. "Our relationship means so much to me. I know that I've hurt you, and it, a great deal today and I sincerely hope that I haven't broken it beyond repair." Mike then looks down because he can't keep looking in Connie's eyes for fear that he cannot continue to say what he needs to communicate. "If it has, tell me and I will go, no questions asked."

When Connie doesn't say anything, Mike thinks that it's over and starts to walk away. Connie recovering her voice says in just above a whisper, "I accept your apology," and pulls Mike in for a hug. Mike who can't believe what's happening just looks at Connie with pure love for her. When he does recover enough to find his voice, he says in hushed tones, "I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you. Thank you for making me realize how my sudden decisions and actions in the courtroom can affect you and us. I never want to hurt you like that again."

Connie is finally feeling a little better, pulls away to look Mike in the eye before speaking. "Mike, you don't know how lucky you are that I love you so much. You hurt me personally and professionally today. If I loved you less, I'm not sure I would have been as receptive to what you had to say. If we weren't already in a relationship, I would most likely never consider it at all."

Looking at Connie and drinking in her features, Mike says, "I love you, Connie. I don't ever want to jeopardize that love again." Mike hesitantly reaches up to wipe the tears off her face and is happy that she doesn't recoil.

Connie manages a weak smile and says, "Is that Fellini's I smell?"

Mike is a little embarrassed and smiles weakly. "Yes, I stopped off to pick up two of your favorite dishes there in hopes that if my apology didn't work that food you love might. I put them on your counter after I handed you the flowers. Did you want to eat?"

"I actually had dinner earlier, but with the mood I was in, I didn't eat much," says Connie with a weak smile of her own. "I actually feel a little hungrier now."

"You sit at the kitchen table," says Mike. "Let me start making it up to you by serving you."

Mike leads Connie into the kitchen and guides her to a chair, where she sits down. Mike takes off his coat and suit jacket and puts them on a hook by the door. Mike then rolls up his sleeves and gets the plates and place mats from the cupboard, utensils from the drawer, turns paper towels into napkins and brings the two larger to-go boxes to the tiny kitchen table.

"What did you want to drink? Water?" asks Mike.

Looking up at Mike, Connie says, "I actually have an unopened bottle of wine in the fridge in the door."

Mike goes to the cupboard and gets the white wine glasses and puts them on the table. "Your bottle opener is?"

"Third drawer down," says Connie as she watches Mike, still slightly weary from the emotional rollercoaster Mike put her through today.

Mike opens the wine bottle and pours a glass for each of them. Setting the bottle on the counter, Mike comes back to the table. "Which would you like? Fettuccine Alfredo e fungi with Chicken or the Chicken Parmigiana? Would you like some of both?"

"A little of both sounds really good right now," says Connie her mood lifting a little as the smells of her favorite dishes penetrate her nostrils.

Mike dishes half of each dish onto Connie's plate and the other half of the dishes onto his own.

They eat in silence. Mike because he doesn't want to break the truce they currently have and Connie because although she's feeling better, isn't in need of conversation right now.

When they are done, Mike says, "More wine?"

"Yes, please," says Connie as she holds her wine glass out to him.

As Mike is pouring the wine, he says, "They threw in two desserts when they realized my dire straits." With the look of alarm in Connie's face, he quickly adds, "Don't worry, I was discreet. All I said was that I needed an apology dinner for you."

Connie smiles and Mike clears up the dirty dinner dishes and gets clean dessert dishes and utensils.

Feeling more cheerful after having eaten properly, Connie says, "What did they give you?"

Mike brings the two smaller cartons to the table, and opens them up. "Looks like tiramisu and cannoli. Which would you like?"

"A little of each, please."

Mike splits the desserts in half and each half goes to each plate. Again, they eat in silence.

After the dessert dishes are cleared, Mike brings the bottle of wine and their glasses to the living room where Connie with her feet on the sofa leans on Mike who has an arm around her shoulders. The TV had been on mute all this time. They flip through the channels and find something that they agree on with as little conversation as possible. They munch on the popcorn that Connie made earlier. It's like it's any other night that they are spending together except for the lack of conversation.

When eleven o'clock comes along, Mike gets up and says, "I better be going."

Reaching up to take Mike's hand, Connie says, "Mike, stay."

"Are you sure?" asks Mike not wanting to impose.

"I sleep better when you're with me, too," confesses Connie. "Besides, you don't know where my sister and brother-in-law live."

Realizing the significance of her words, Mike has to school his features not to reveal too much hope on his part. "Well, we'll have to stop by the office tomorrow, then. In my hurry, I didn't bring my overnight bag with me and it's closer than my apartment."

"Sure." Connie gets up, turns off the TV and leads Mike into her bedroom. She takes out a men's t-shirt and hands it to Mike. "You left this the last time you were here. You can sleep in it."

Mike takes the shirt and goes into Connie's bathroom to change.

When Mike returns from the bathroom, in his t-shirt and boxers, Connie had already turned off the lights. He put his clothes at the foot of the bed and slides in under the covers. Connie immediately moves over to snuggle though still no words are exchanged. When Mike starts to say something, Connie just says, "Shhh," in a soothing tone. Just as Mike is falling asleep, Connie turns and starts kissing his cheek, moving to his jaw, then his neck. Mike responds by returning her caresses with kisses of his own. Whenever Mike starts to say something, Connie just shushes him in that same gentle tone. The only word Mike utters through out that isn't shushed is "Condom." Even the sounds of pleasure uttered are merely grunts and moans and contains no words.

When they finish, Mike hears in the silence of the dark room Connie's sniffles. Mike reaches out to find that Connie is crying. Mike's heart breaks that much more at the realization and the only things he can think of to do is to hold her and soothe her in non-verbal ways, which he does until she falls asleep. Mike then slowly and gently extricates himself to go and clean up. When he returns, Connie turns in her sleep and snuggles up next to him. Mike, extremely concerned, holds her in the quiet of the dark bedroom until he, too, falls asleep.

**A/N2:** I hope you liked it. So was Mike's apology sufficient for the situation? Did Mike act contrite enough for his apology? I had to find a way to get Mike and Connie back to where they usually are by Monday which is when the Stuber case goes to trial in the S20 timeline and I hope I did the first bit justice. Mike will have to meet Connie's family and try to impress them while his relationship with Connie is on rocky terrain. I am working on further chapters of this story, but I won't promise that I will be able to post as regularly as I did last summer. Please, please, please let me know what you think and review. I reply to every comment that is posted. :)


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** Sorry this took longer than the month I was expecting it would take. Getting back into the swing of writing this story took watching S18 -14: Burn Card while I was on vacation to jump start. The bad news is that this chapter is a little shorter than my usual fair at about 2500 words. The good news is that I'm in the middle of tweaking a second chapter and hope to post in the the next two or three weeks. As always, many thanks to Tripp3235 for her quick turnaround betas.

**Disclaimer:** Not mine. All Law and Order characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just playing with them.

**Apartment of Consuela Rubirosa, Across from Morgan's Market, Saturday, February 20**

Mike awakes the next morning to Connie's caresses and kisses. He responds in kind once the fog of sleep lifts. The bedroom is bathed in the glow of morning light, shining through Connie's bedroom curtains, so Mike can actually see Connie this time. Her expressions throughout are less pained than last night, for which Mike is relieved. Being able to see your partner in lovemaking helps and as no words are exchanged this time either, it is also a relief for Mike that Connie isn't crying at the end of it. This Connie makes Mike uneasy but he doesn't dare push.

When Mike gets up to go clean up, he says gently, "Why don't you stay in bed. It's only nine o'clock and I think we have time to lounge a little. I'll make us coffee and we can decide on breakfast then."

"Sure, Mike," says Connie still subdue. "Can you get the paper from the front door? They should have delivered mine by now." That is more words Connie said to him since she accepted his apology.

"Of course,"says Mike giving her a quick glance as he picks up his boxers from the floor. "I'll be right back."

After cleaning up and putting his t-shirt and boxers back on, Mike grabs the newspaper lying on Connie's welcome mat. Once Mike figures out how to work Connie's coffee machine, he brews a pot of coffee. As he waits, he leans on the kitchen counter and his thoughts wander. _Proceed with caution. She's still mad at you, so follow her lead. You still have a lot of penance to do._ After making their individual coffees, he brings them back to the bedroom with the newspaper under this arm.

When Mike returns to the bedroom, Connie is sitting cross-legged in bed.

"Here you go," says Mike as he hands Connie her coffee. "Coffee and newspaper."

"Thanks, Mike." Connie has a fleeting smile for him. This encourages Mike to start a conversation, their first since the apology.

"Anytime," says Mike as he gets back into bed and sits up against the pillows. "When do we need to leave for the birthday party?"

After taking a sip of the coffee, Connie puts her cup on the nightstand with a coaster and lays out the paper in front of her. "The family portion starts at three with a dinner at five because of all the kids. They are at the end of the 495 on Long Island, so we'll take my car. We should leave no later than quarter to two." Connie's voice is softer than normal, but at least she is talking to him again.

Looking at his coffee in front of him, Mike asks, "I thought you always went to Brooklyn for Christmas?"

"I do," says Connie as she takes a quick look back at him. "My parents live in Brooklyn, but my sister and brother-in-law wanted a mansion of a house, so they ended up just outside of Calverton. You'll see what I mean when we get there."

"What do you want to do for breakfast?" asks Mike as he returns her glance.

"I'm not quite hungry, yet," says Connie as her glance lingers a little before going back to the newspaper in front of her. "I think I'm still digesting our late dinner. Why don't we go pick up your bag at the office and then go for brunch?"

"Sure. Sounds like a plan," says Mike as he watches Connie to ascertain her current state of mind.

Conversation is stopped though the quiet between them is not uncomfortable and might be even considered companionable. Connie passes the first section of the newspaper to Mike after she is done. After about twenty minutes, Connie looks up from her newspaper, turns to Mike with a puzzled look and asks, "Didn't you have something scheduled for this morning?"

Mike puts down the section of the paper he is reading and says, "It was just a class I wanted to take at the gym. I think this is much more important than that."

Connie goes back to flipping through the paper. Mike picks up the sports section and watches her surreptitiously. Spring training has just started so there really isn't much in the paper keeping his interest. Eventually, his concern, laced with guilt, pushes Mike to put down the sports section and ask.

"Connie?"

"Hmm?" asks Connie as she takes a sip of coffee.

"H-How do you want me to make amends to you?" asks Mike with the newspaper on his lap. "Not professionally, but personally?"

Connie glances back at him and says, "I think you're doing a fine job as is."

Mike's brows furrows and asks, "What do you mean?"

"You've been very attentive and caring since last night," says Connie with empty coffee cup in front of her. "I like it."

Mike raises an eyebrow and says, "That's it?"

"That's it."

"If that's what you want ..." Mike is incredulous but plans to give Connie what she wants.

Connie gives Mike a small smile and returns to reading the paper.

* * *

They go down to Connie's parking garage after washing up and getting ready. It is half past ten and Mike is back in his clothes from yesterday, while Connie is in a sweater, jeans, and a casual sweater carrying a gift bag and a card.

"Why don't you drive, Mike? I need to address the card." Connie gives Mike the keys.

"Sure." Taking the keys from Connie, Mike unlocks the car.

After getting out of the garage, they head out to Hogan Place to get Mike's stuff.

"Don't seal it. I have a gift card for him," says Mike as Connie is just signing her name on the birthday card.

"You really don't have to," says Connie, surprised.

Mike shrugs. "My grandmother drilled into me that it's impolite to visit someone empty-handed and I don't know enough about your family to get something for them. I'm sure your nephew wouldn't mind."

"I'm sure he won't." Connie finishes with the card and puts it unsealed into the gift bag.

As Mike pulls up to Hogan Place, he asks, "Would you mind sitting in the car while I run up?"

"That's fine," says Connie as she pulls the card out to write it out.

"Do you need anything from your desk?" asks Mike as he is about to open the car door.

"No, there's nothing urgent and I'm not up to working this weekend."

Mike nods. "I'll be right back."

Fifteen minutes later, Mike returns clean shaven and in more casual clothing. After he gets back into the driver's seat, he hands Connie a gift card to a chain toy store.

"Don't worry," says Mike. "It's only a $20 gift card."

"When did you have time to go get a gift card?" asks Connie, puzzled. "I didn't even know you knew where there was a store."

Looking in the rear view mirror to get back onto the road, Mike says,"I ordered it from the Internet after you invited me and had it delivered."

"It was really sweet of you to do that. I'm sure his eyes will light up when he understands what the card means." Connie smiles more broadly at Mike than she's done since yesterday morning. Mike smiles back.

"Where did you want to go for brunch?" asks Mike as he's gets back on the road.

"How about we try to find some place on the way?" suggests Connie.

"Sure. Which way?" asks Mike.

"We want to take the Williamsburg Bridge," says Connie as she briefly looks up at the direction they are heading.

Mike drives off in that direction.

* * *

They find a local diner that serves breakfast twenty-four hours a day off the Long Island Expressway. They had given the waitress their order, and she is just returning with their coffees. After the waitress leaves, Mike takes one of Connie's hand in both of his and says, "I love you, Connie, and I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday."

"You don't have to apologize again," says Connie after she takes a sip of coffee. "I know."

"I just felt it necessary to make sure," says Mike as he's looking at her hand in his. He looks up at Connie's face and continues, "I thought I was going to lose you last night. I don't ever want to feel so lost again."

Connie takes Mike's hands in hers and says, "I was terribly hurt and upset with you, but I still love you. You know your mother is right. You need someone to heed your recklessness. Surprises like that are not appreciated. I'm sure if I were to suggest that you were incompetent during cross, you would be incensed with me."

"What do you suggest I do? Sometimes these ideas just come as I'm doing the cross. It's not like I can warn you since I don't know that I'm going to say something beforehand."

"Maybe you could give me some sort of pre-arranged signal?" says Connie not exactly sure what she could suggest.

"I can come up with something." After seeing that Connie is not responding well to that, Mike adds, "I will come up with something."

Connie takes her hand out of Mike's hand to add a splash of milk into her coffee and takes another sip. Mike drinks a sip of his and says, "Can you tell me who I should be expecting to meet?"

"There's the birthday boy, Luis, who's four today," says Connie as she's looking at Mike. "My sister, Rosa, is his mother. Her husband is Nestor. They also have an older boy, Cruz, who is seven and two older girls, Cita, who is five and Reyna, who is nine. My parents and Nestor's parents will also be there. My brother, Al, his wife, Nina and their kids will be there. Also, I think some of Nestor's brothers and sisters and their families will be there."

"I thought you had two sisters and two brothers?" says Mike puzzled.

"My brother Carl and his family are in Florida this year and my other sister, Christina, lives in Miami. Still it will be a full house and more kids than you can count on your fingers." Connie sighs before saying, "Also, Spanish will be the language that the adults speak among themselves. I don't know if you speak it."

Mike shakes his head and says, "I know a few words here or there, but that's it."

"They will speak English to you but will likely have conversations in Spanish. I hope you don't mind."

"Maybe I will learn to pick it up over time," says Mike hopefully.

"Good luck with that," says Connie with a small chuckle. "They speak it at such a lightning speed that sometimes I have to ask them to repeat themselves. My Spanish is a little rusty since I don't use it often, but by the end of the night, I usually pick it up again. Don't be surprised if I accidentally ask you something in Spanish. Sometimes I forget to switch languages. It used to freak my college boyfriend out."

"Thanks for the warning. I'll be fine."

Their food arrive and conversation stops for a bit as they consume their food.

When she finishes over half her food and is just picking, Connie says, "Mike, a couple of other things. Be aware when my brother or brother-in-law offers you food. It's likely laced with the hottest hot sauce they can find. It's a bit of an initiation thing for them. They have done it to every boyfriend I've brought home." Connie rolls her eyes. "I know it's juvenile, but it's their way of showing that they want to give you a chance. Secondly, avoid any conversations regarding politics with my sister-in-law, Nina. Her family were and probably still are Shalvoy supporters and she would not be happy to find out you were involved in bringing him down."

"Don't worry, Connie. I will be on my best behavior. Scouts honor." Mike holds up the scout salute.

Connie smiles. "Were you ever really a scout?"

"Two summers when I was in Oregon," says Mike with a smile. "Tom was in it so I got to go, too. Even earned a couple of badges."

"I would have never guessed." Seeing that Mike was finished with his food, Connie asks, "Would you like the rest of this?"

"You're all done?" asks Mike.

Connie nods and they switch plates. They had gotten into the habit of Mike finishing Connie's food the last few times they had gone out. Mike takes this as a good sign that things are on the mend.

"What do your brothers and sisters do?" asks Mike after he swallows a bite of food.

"Well, you know Carl and Laura are research oncologists," says Connie. "They met in medical school. Rosa is a stay-at-home mom though before the kids came, she was a professor at a community college and Nestor is an executive at his family's business. Al is a Vice-President at a pharmaceutical company and Nina is an investment adviser who is currently on maternity leave as she just had a baby two months ago. Christina is an interior decorator."

"Your parents must be retired," says Mike.

"No," says Connie after she drinks some of her coffee. "My dad should have retired last year but just couldn't do it cold turkey. So, he just reduced his hours to three days a week. My mom still works at her flower shop, part time. She had hoped that she could pass it onto Christina, but then Christina moved to Miami, so I think she's looking to sell soon."

Just then, Mike finishes the remainder of Connie's breakfast and says, "Is there anything I shouldn't talk about with your parents? I know the Yankees are out."

Connie thinks a bit on it and says, "Well, you probably shouldn't mention that you're my boss. My parents, especially my dad, will frown upon it and might use it as a reason not to like you. We both work at the DA's office. I'm sure you know, but don't bring up that we're sleeping together. My parents are a bit old-fashioned Catholics and think that sex is something that should only occur in the sanctity of marriage." Connie rolls her eyes at this juncture. "Also, as the baby of the family and they can get protective of me. I guess the best advice is don't rock the boat."

"Don't rock the boat," says Mike after he finishes his coffee. "I can do that. Are you ready? We should get back on the road if we want to get to your sister's by three o'clock."

They pay quickly and are back on the road in under 15 minutes.

**A/N2:** Sorry this is just a bridging chapter, but it would have been too much for the chapter to also include Mike meeting Connie's family, plus then I wouldn't be posting now. So is Mike on safer ground now that the night and half the next day has passed since he apologized? How is Connie feeling about the whole thing? Please let me know what you think.


End file.
